After giving up his savings to help others, a 9-year-old Dallas boy finally got his PlayStation 4 Sunday, thanks to a generous brother and sister from Collin County.
Hector Montoya saved up for about a year to buy a new PS4 gaming system but decided to put the money to a different use at the last minute: giving smoke detectors to those in need.
"I was going to buy a PlayStation but I decided saving a life was more important cause one life lost is too many,” said Montoya.
His grandmother said the idea came up after Hector heard a story on the news about a mother and child dying in a fire without a smoke detector. The boy was shocked to learn some folks didn’t have the safety system in their homes.
"Really it just hurt my heart,” he said.
On Saturday, Montoya and the Grand Prairie Fire Department installed about 100 smoke detectors he had donated into the homes of folks in need. When NBC 5 first covered the story, Hector simply said he planned to start saving again and hopefully get his PS4 eventually.
Within hours of the story airing, the NBC DFW Facebook page was filled with comments from people wanting to help the cause or see the young man’s kindness paid back, including from a brother and sister in Allen who were ready to do something right away.
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Ashton and Peyton Harder immediately got to work with their mother and bought a PS4 that night to personally deliver to Hector.
"To see a 9-year-old worrying about so many others, you can't help but want to give him what he wants,” said 19-year-old Ashton. “We thought that he deserved something special."
On Sunday, the family drove the 45-minute trip to the Montoya home in Dallas and brought Hector the system.
"I was really excited,” said Montoya. "I didn't know that this was going to happen, really I didn't, but I was excited when I heard."
"Once we turned the corner and pulled up we were like, OK this is, hopefully he's excited and wants this,” said Ashton.
Needless to say, the 9-year-old was overjoyed to meet his new friends and set up the game system right away.
The game console wasn’t the only gift the Harders brought. The duo also brought Hector an extra $150 to help buy more smoke detectors and keep his cause going.
"It made me feel really good that I was helping him out with all of this and that we gave him extra money,” said 14-year-old Peyton Harder.
Montoya said he plans to continue saving and donating money to give smoke detectors to folks who need them.
