Video footage shows the terrifying moment an Arizona toddler ran out into oncoming traffic, and was nearly mowed down by two different cars. The distressing footage came from a nearby woman’s dashcam.
On Friday, November 8, 2024, the woman was driving through Mesa, Arizona, with her 7-year-old son in the car when she spotted a toddler running into a busy intersection.
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The woman looking on was 'completely hysterical.'
When she found herself witnessing the terrifying situation, the woman didn’t know what to do. Because her 7-year-old son was in the backseat of her car, she didn’t want to use her car to block traffic and potentially put her own child in danger.
In the video shared with AZFamily, the woman can be heard screaming. “When you look at the video, I’m completely hysterical because I feel hopeless,” she told the news outlet.
She didn't know what to do.
The video shows cars driving past the toddler, just barely missing him. Because the woman didn’t want to use her car to block traffic, she tried to come up with another solution.
She honked in hopes that the toddler would notice, but at the same time, she prepared for the the worst possible outcome. “I felt like I was mentally preparing myself to watch a child be crushed,” the woman told AZFamily.
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Luckily, a bystander intervened.
Luckily, another woman was able to swoop in and rescue the child before anything tragic happened. The bystander ran to the child and took him away from the busy intersection. She then took the toddler back to his house.
“I’m feeling overwhelmed, but just happy that the kind woman was willing to sacrifice her life to go into the road and grab him,” the woman who shared her dashcam footage told AZFamily.
The toddler's dad wasn't home and didn't realize his son had left the house.
When the toddler ran into oncoming traffic, his dad wasn’t home. He thought his wife was watching the kids, but had stepped out and seemingly forgot to lock the door, the dad told AZ Family. He added that his wife has been struggling with postpartum depression.
The dad is 'thankful.'
Speaking to Fox 10, the dad thanked the bystander who rescued his son. He learned that his son had left the house when he got a Ring camera notification that showed the bystander with his son.
“I see my door wide open with some lady holding my child, and she tells me that I have my kids running in the middle of the street,” the dad told Fox 10.
The surprised man was also “incredibly grateful” that the woman intervened.
