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The teenager Enzo Zampieri, 13 years old, received the medal Cross of Value Caio Vianna Martins, the highest distinction of Brazilian scouting, after rescuing Gabrieli Coelli from a stream in Campos Novos (SC), applying first aid learned at the Fire Department of Capinzal seven days before the accident.
The teenager Enzo Zampieri, 13 years old, was awarded the highest honor for bravery granted by Brazilian scouting after preventing a young woman from drowning following a motorcycle accident where she fell into a stream in Campos Novos, in the Midwest of Santa Catarina. Enzo was nearby when he heard the impact of the motorcycle leaving the road and falling into the water, he ran to the victim and found her injured and unable to move, a situation in which the teenager had to act alone to prevent her from drowning. The detail that transformed the instinctive reaction into an effective rescue was the training: just a week before, Enzo had completed a first aid course taught by military firefighters in Capinzal.
The decoration received by the teenager is the Medal Cross of Value Caio Vianna Martins, a distinction reserved for demonstrations of bravery, personal sacrifice, and commitment to the lives of others that undergo a rigorous verification process before being granted. The regional coordinator of the scouts, Leandro Crestani, explained that the awarding of this medal is rare and that there is a detailed investigation to confirm that the events actually occurred before granting the honor. For scout leader Marta Ferreira, Enzo’s attitude practically represents everything that the movement teaches: to form useful people to the community, ready to assist those in need in any circumstance.
How the teenager rescued the young woman from the stream in Campos Novos
The accident happened last year when Enzo was playing near a watercourse and heard the noise of a motorcycle colliding off the track. Upon running to the point of impact, the teenager found Gabrieli Coelli lying in the stream, injured and unable to get up, with her face partially submerged and the helmet making it difficult to breathe. The situation required immediate action: if no one intervened in the next few minutes, the young woman was at real risk of drowning in a layer of water that under normal circumstances would not pose a danger.
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Enzo acted with the objectivity of someone who had just learned what to do in this type of emergency. The teenager lifted Gabrieli’s head out of the water and worked to remove the helmet that was suffocating her, two actions that the firefighters from Capinzal confirmed were crucial to keep the victim alive until help arrived. Soldier Matheus Coelho Fernandez, who attended the incident, stated that the teenager’s presence at the scene and the decision to lift the young woman’s head were of utmost importance for the outcome of the case.
The training that prepared the teenager one week before the rescue
The temporal coincidence is the element that makes the story of Campos Novos extraordinary. Seven days before the accident, the teenager had participated in training in rescue techniques offered by the military firefighters of Capinzal, training that included techniques for approaching victims, managing airways, and basic stabilization procedures until specialized teams arrived. Without this recent preparation, Enzo would have arrived at the stream with the same goodwill, but possibly without knowing that the absolute priority was to clear the airway before attempting any movement of the victim’s body.
The case demonstrates that training in first aid produces measurable results even when applied by a 13-year-old teenager. The difference between knowing and not knowing what to do in the first minutes of an emergency can determine whether the victim survives or not, and Enzo proved that the interval of a week between learning the technique and needing to use it was sufficient for the knowledge to convert into effective action. The firefighters who conducted the training in Capinzal probably did not imagine that the content would be tested in a real situation so quickly, and by the youngest member of the group.
What Gabrieli said about the teenager who saved her
The young woman rescued by the teenager did not hesitate to describe what Enzo represented at that moment. Gabrieli Coelli called the boy a “superhero” for the courage he showed and emphasized that he stayed by her side from the beginning to the end of the incident, without backing down even in the face of a scene that would scare most adults. His presence at the scene is a relevant detail for the medal’s award: many people who provide initial aid abandon the scene before professionals arrive, and the fact that the teenager stayed until the complete rescue demonstrates a maturity that goes beyond technique.
The relationship between rescuer and rescued was mediated by seconds of decision that could have ended very differently. If Enzo had not recognized that the helmet was restricting Gabrieli’s breathing, or if he had tried to drag her out of the stream without first ensuring she was breathing, the outcome could have been tragic. The teenager got the sequence of priorities right that he learned in training, and the young woman’s gratitude reflects the awareness that her life depended on the presence and preparation of a 13-year-old boy in the right place, at the exact moment.
What the Cross of Valor Medal means in Brazilian scouting
The award given to the teenager is not a symbolic prize. The Caio Vianna Martins Cross of Valor Medal is the highest distinction for bravery in national scouting, awarded exclusively in proven cases of heroic action involving personal risk and resulting in the preservation of human life. The process for granting it includes a formal investigation that verifies whether the described facts actually occurred, whether the degree of risk was genuine, and whether the honoree’s conduct met the criteria established by the movement.
For scouting, cases like Enzo’s validate decades of educational work aimed at character formation and preparation for emergency situations. Scout leader Marta Ferreira highlighted that the movement’s purpose is precisely to create people useful to the community, and that the act performed by the teenager practically translates the values that scouting teaches in every meeting, camp, and formative activity. The medal stays with Enzo, but the meaning belongs to the entire structure that prepared him with first aid and citizenship values in Campos Novos to act when the opportunity to save a life appeared without warning.
And you, do you think first aid should be mandatory in Brazilian schools? Do you know any teenager who has saved someone? Leave your opinion in the comments.
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