Good Samaritan prevents toddler from crawling into traffic

Illinois police said a 1 1/2-year-old boy crawled through a hole in a fence at a day care center Thursday morning and was moving toward traffic before a good Samaritan grabbed him, WBBM Radio reported.

Kim Nieto said the baby was about 10 feet from moving vehicles.

“Thankfully that man, whoever he was, truly saved that baby’s life,” Nieto told WBBM. “Because had he made it to the street, I’m not sure what could’ve happened. Those cars move fast on that road. It’s a busy road.”

The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services said it's investigating the incident at the Kiddie Academy in Oswego.

Police say it happened about 10:15 a.m. Thursday. A spokeswoman said Kiddie Academy told police the fence has now been repaired.

“Devin Anderson, the child’s father, was incredulous.

“How could something like this happen?” Anderson told WBBM. “My son got out through a gap in the fence at his daycare.

“You don’t want to think about it, but if something were to happen, you’d always want to be there,” he said.

Cox Media Group