Canadian police are calling a 9-year-old Toronto boy a hero for having the guts to call 911 on his mother who was driving drunk at the time, with him in the car, according to Global News. Getting his mother off the road could have saved lives.

"The boy is a hero, that's for sure," said York police Const. Andy Pattenden. "It's an unbelievable situation where he has the wherewithal to make that call to 911 and stop basically an emergency or a crime in process even though it's his mother."

When police were unable to make contact when the boy's original call came in on Wednesday, they phoned him back on the same mobile phone number, according to the New York Post. The boy explained that he was afraid and he was in the van while his mother was drinking, and behind the wheel. The mother took the phone away, told the police she had just had one drink and hung up the phone, but not before they were able to determine that she was in the area just north of Toronto, in King Township.

The police found the 52-year-old mother and took her in due to impaired driving. A breathalyzer test at the station showed that she was more than twice the legal limit, Buzzfeed reported. The boy's father picked him up at the police station and took him home, but not before everyone thanked him for his bravery.

"It's an amazing story. One I've never heard of in my time of policing," Pattenden added. "It's unfortunate we can't name him due to the circumstances, but let's call him an unsung hero."

An unbelievable act of bravery as 9yr old calls 9-1-1 to report his mom drinking and driving, while he's in the van https://t.co/aXtfjVKF2g — York Regional Police (@YRP) November 13, 2015

@ 2018 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.