9-year-old boy sees Fl license plate at Alabama Chick-fil-A drive-thru, jumps out of his car to do his part

A young boy’s touching gesture to help a family in the wake of Hurricane Irma is warming hearts on social media.

Landon was in line at the Chick-fil-A drive-thru in Alabama with his mom, Tara Routzong, last week when he noticed the license plate on the car in front of them.

Since they had been discussing the hurricane which was headed toward Florida at that time, Landon pointed out the car was from the Sunshine State, his mom wrote in a post on Facebook.

“Went to Chick Fil A(sic) for lunch today because yum,” Routzong wrote. “Landon saw the car in front of us was from Florida (we have been talking about Irma today) and he declared we were paying for their meal and I agreed.”

The young boy was determined to pay it forward, literally, and was not deterred when faced with the challenge of paying for a car that was ahead of them in line.

Landon ran “toward their window with a debit card in hand,” his mother wrote, scaring “the mess out of them” in the process.

Not exactly recommended behavior, but the dangerous act was rewarded with much appreciation by the Florida driver, who shared that he had left his Miami home to escape the hurricane and was headed to Birmingham to stay with family.

“I told him we hoped he returned to his house untouched and that we’d keep him in our thoughts,” Routzong recalled.  “Landon and I both had tears in our eyes from how appreciative he was.”

“I didn’t want them to waste their money on food because they’re trying to escape the hurricane,” the nine year-old told ABC News. “I felt like I should help out.”

The Troy, Alabama, restaurant was on the evacuation route out of Florida, Chick-fil-A director of operations Savannah Smith told ABC News.

“Between my husband and I, we always try to give back and help out anyone,” Routzong told Inside Edition. “A 9-year-old could be focused on so many other things, but whenever a situation presents itself, Landon is always thinking of how he can help.”

The proud mom’s post has earned 2,500 “likes” on Facebook and been shared nearly 1,000 times.

Comments ranged from “What a beautiful thing to do!” to “Great job of raising a young boy to be an amazing man!” One Facebook user declared “there needs to be more ppl like that boy,” and another shared, “As I wipe the tears away from my eyes from this story. What a beautiful thoughtful young man you have raised.”