A heart-pounding video has been making its way around social media for the past 24 hours showing a woman standing outside her car as the baby stroller beside her suddenly rolls downhill toward oncoming traffic. At first, it seems almost too tragic to keep watching; but luckily, thanks to the quick thinking of a Good Samaritan, this story has a happy ending.
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The incident happened on Monday in San Bernardino County, CA
According to KCAL News, a woman was unloading items from her SUV around 3:30 p.m., just outside of the A1 Hand Car Wash in the city of Hesperia, CA.
But as her focus was turned to the backseat of her car, she did not realize that the stroller her great-nephew was sitting in, just inches away from her, had started to roll away.
Because the street was pitched downhill, the stroller quickly gained momentum
Once the woman noticed, she tried running toward the stroller to stop it from going any further. But in the process, she unfortunately tripped and fell twice on the pavement, while the stroller continued to roll toward the street.
In the distance, the security footage shows that the stroller was headed for a busy roadway, where many cars were passing in both directions.
The thought of what could've happened next is almost too heartbreaking to imagine
But luckily, it didn’t come to that.
Security footage shows another person jumping into frame and grabbing the stroller just moments before it hits the main roadway.
The stranger then pushes the baby stroller back uphill, while another person helps the woman to stand back up again.
Once the Good Samaritan reaches the woman to return her baby safely, the video shows him wrapping his arms around her in a reassuring hug.
The story quickly made local headlines before it went national on Wednesday
In the process, the Good Samaritan that saved the day has also been named publicly. According to reports, his name is Ronald Nessman. He insists he’s no hero.
“I was just thankful I was at the right place at the right time,” Nessman later told reporters.
At the time of the incident, Nessman was sitting on a bench outside the car wash. As soon as he saw the stroller rolling away, he jumped up to intervene.
“I heard a lady screaming while I was on my way to the stroller, and she had fallen down twice,” Nessman shared. “I noticed the stroller was going through traffic and instinctively ran towards the stroller.”
Nessman himself has an interesting story to tell
As he later shared with outlets like KCAL, he was formerly homeless for eight years before getting back on his feet. In fact, just minutes before he saved the baby from heading into the busy four-lane road, Nessman had interviewed for a job at a nearby Applebee’s restaurant.
But as soon as he saw the stroller rolling downhill, he sprang into action.
For one thing, he could tell that the woman was in shock.
“She sees the child going into the street and that’s all she sees,” Nessman recalled. “She can’t do nothing.”
Because of his close proximity, however, Nessman knew that he could get there first
“I didn’t have time to even think about it,” he told KCAL. “You just react.”
His compassion for the woman also drove his desire to help.
“I seen her and I felt so bad for the lady,” said Nessman. “I got nephews and nieces and I couldn’t imagine something like that.”
Once he reached her to return the child, his heart went out to her even more.
“Her knees were bleeding, she was traumatized from falling and from the baby going into traffic,” Nessman recalled. “I can only imagine what was going on in her head. It was heart-wrenching. She was crying, she was in shock. I hope she’s all right.”
Luckily, the baby was completely unharmed and was even smiling up at Nessman when he grabbed the stroller.
The close call has also served as a reminder to parents and caregivers that locking the wheels of a stroller can be lifesaving — not just in cases where a stroller is sitting on a hill, but also in situations where large gusts of wind can send it rolling.
