A little boy is home and recovering after being run over by a car thanks to the life-saving efforts made by a New Mexico State Corrections officer.

Sgt. Mitchell Lamb is 2-year-old Asher Lamb's neighbor – no relation. Mitchell was off duty when the accident happened.

"He came out running and knew exactly what to do; they helped us," said Ashton Haight, Asher's mother. "Him and his wife called 911 and he was airlifted from our area to El Paso. He just did an amazing thing."

Mitchell received the Medal of Valor from his employer Monday for stepping in on Dec. 21 to stabilize the child, calm the parents and get a medical flight on the scene to get the boy to a trauma unit. 

On that day, Mitchell heard the commotion and found the boy unresponsive with a crushed skull and leg, with his parents ready to drive him to the nearest hospital.

"We're just real grateful that Mr. Mitchell was there because had he not been there, the parents would have done what they thought was right, which a lot of people would think is right, is to take him to the hospital as quickly as possible," said Leon Baker, Asher's grandfather. "But Mr. Mitchell, knowing what had to be done, had the hospital come to them."

From one second to the next, Baker described, Asher was with an adult in the garage to being run over. 

He was hit by his father's truck as his dad tried to move the vehicle in the driveway. 

"It still plays back in my mind everyday but just seeing this way, this award is for him, and he definitely earned it," said Garson Lamb, Asher's father.

Asher's family was very grateful for Mitchell's actions, and because of him, their Christmas was unforgettable.

"He was Ashton's guardian angel," Baker said. "He was the guardian angel for the entire family. My grandson came home on Christmas Eve, late Christmas Eve, and it would have been very different if Mr. Mitchell wouldn't have been there. It would have been a wake, and he would have been gone. It made our Christmas like forever. We are going to remember that Christmas."