The people who care for our kids are angels, but recently a nanny in Washington, D.C., proved she is also a hero after she stopped the worst from happening to the kids under her watch. Marina Fuentes jumped in front of a moving vehicle to protect a 2- and 7-year-old she was caring for after the driver jumped the curb and plowed toward them on the sidewalk.
Fuentes and the two children were walking in the Mount Pleasant neighborhood on September 15.
Police later said that at around 4:55 p.m., delivery driver Denis Miranda left his car unattended and running, a press release from the Metropolitan Police Department states. Then, an unnamed man jumped into the vehicle and took off.
“As the suspect fled the scene, he lost control of the vehicle and struck the delivery driver, an adult female, and two juveniles,” it reads.
After crashing into the group, the car thief got out of the car and fled on foot.
“All of the victims were transported to local hospitals for treatment of non-life threatening injuries,” the statement reads.
Speaking to NBC 4 from her hospital bed, Fuentes said as soon as she saw the driver coming their way, she put herself in front of the kids.
"I got in front of the little girl, and I hear a bump in the back," she said.
She also recalled how through the pain she managed to put the kids first.
“I look down and got the stroller with [the] baby and wrapped it with my hands, with my arms to my chest,” she added.
A GoFundMe set up to help raise funds for Fuentes’ medical bills states that the nanny was crushed “against the retaining wall” and “She suffered multiple broken bones.”
Luckily, the kids weren’t hurt.
But Fuentes already needed one surgery and her doctors think she’ll need several more. The caretaker has no idea if or when she’ll be able to return to work.
“I feel like my life is ended. I feel I’m not going to have the same quality of life after this,” she said.
Fuentes’ doctors believe she’ll be able to recover in about six months.
The crowdfunding page’s creator, Claire Keller, spoke with NBC 4 and said Fuentes “loves the kids she takes care of, and we all know it.”
Keller knows this first hand because Fuentes was her nanny when she was a little girl.
“She is extremely protective of the kids in her care,” Keller added. “She was basically my third parent. I felt like it was my responsibility to take care of her the way anyone would someone they're that close to is injured."
The crowdfunding page has so far raised over $30,000 and will hopefully help Fuentes as she goes through several surgeries she’ll need in the future.
“Because Marina won't be able to work during that time, we want to join together with the other supportive family, friends and neighbors to raise money that she can use for her mortgage and other expenses,” Keller wrote on the GoFundMe page. “ Thank you for your support for a true local hero!”
