A boy of 11 has been praised for translating between English-speaking rescue workers and Spanish-speaking casualties following a bus crash that killed six people.

Oscar Rodriguez was among 16 passengers injured on a bus travelling from Zacatecas, Mexico, to Los Angeles, California, last week. Half a dozen others were killed when the bus hit a pickup truck and overturned, about 25 miles outside of Phoenix, Arizona.

Yet even while he lay injured and traumatized on a stretcher, bilingual Oscar, 11, translated to and from Spanish and English to help paramedics and firefighters.

The fourth-grader, who lives in Las Vegas, volunteered his services when it became clear that a critically injured man was having difficulty communicating.

"We were effectively able to not only go through our entire treatment process, but get an accurate patient history so this immediate patient could be flown to a hospital with a flight crew in a more efficient way," firefighter Kenneth Leslie told KHPO News, Phoenix.

Fellow firefighter Jeffery Thomas added, "It was amazing that an 11-year-old, who was probably going through the most traumatic thing of his life, was sitting there and helping us translate."

It was later revealed that Oscar was suffering from several broken ribs.

"This kid stayed calm and was brave more than any other veteran I've worked with," Leslie told New York Daily News.

Oscar was flown to the Maricopa Medical Center following the crash. Rescue workers later visited him to reward him with gifts and presented him with a "Hero of the Day" certificate for offering his linguistic skills.

Oscar's father and sister were also hurt in the collision. All three are recovering.

21 March 2010