Connecticut

Watch: Toddler running toward busy intersection saved by two men

Two barbers in East Hartford ran to save a girl they saw was running to an intersection. The rescue was captured on video.

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A pair of barbers in East Hartford, Connecticut, made a split-second decision which likely saved a young girl’s life.

Heroes are those people who do extraordinary things. 

That’s what two barbers in East Hartford did to save a girl's life. 

“My reaction was not only to look, it was to run and reach the girl. Thank God we had the time to reach her,” said Osvaldo Lugo.

With no time to figure out what was happening, Osvaldo Lugo and Rafael Santana, both barbers from Look Sharp Barbershop, ran to rescue the girl, who was heading towards an intersection just when a truck was driving by.

“Ten more steps and the truck would have crashed into her,” Santana said.

Lugo said that what went through his mind was “just act.”

The incident happened on April 10 at 11:30 a.m. Both barbers were busy with clients when suddenly Santana saw the girl through the window.

“The girl was alone on her way to one of the busiest streets in East Hartford… that's the instinct of a dad, I'm a dad too,” said Santana.

Video cameras captured the child playing and running up and down the street.

They never imagined that they would save her life. Lugo was the one who took her in his arms.

“When I grabbed her, the only thing I saw was innocence… and all she said was 'Mom, mom, mom,' so what I saw was innocence”, said Lugo.

They found the girl's mother at a bus stop.

Lugo and Santana said the girl went from there to the back of their establishment.

“The mother squeezed her chest, like she was saying 'Wow, my God', thank God.' She picked up the girl, the bus arrived, she got on and said goodbye to me through the window,” said Lugo.

When they handed over the girl, they had the suspicion that the mother did not realize what had happened. 

“At that moment, judging the mother was not my intention, my intention was to unite them,” said Lugo.

“God put us that day there for that. That was something like if we had not been here, who would have seen that girl?” Santana added.

Both barbers trust that the girl is fine and hope that the story will inspire other people to take action and help others.

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