Monday

HERO OF THE DAY
SEATTLE -- A quick thinking Seattle garbage truck driver helped rescue a baby in a runaway stroller. Jeff Blackburn was driving a CleanScapes truck on his Queen Anne route Thursday when he saw a woman jogging with a baby in a stroller.

"I noticed as I was coming around the corner that a lady was just walking away from her stroller," Blackburn said. Blackburn said the woman turned the stroller sideways at the top of Bigelow Avenue, then went to apparently meet a group of other women around the corner, but the stroller just turned and took off. "She was on a hill and almost immediately when she turned the corner the stroller started to turn and roll down the hill," Blackburn said. "So I started honking the horn and speeding up so I could catch up to it before it got to the intersection, because at the bottom of the hill was a busy intersection with stop signs."

Blackburn used his truck to block any traffic, and ran to save the baby. "When I got to the bottom, I hit the brake, got out of the truck and tried to grab it," Blackburn said. "Luckily when I was honking the horn, a FedEx truck was going through the intersection and stopped because he heard the horn honking." Blackburn and a woman were able to stop the stroller just after it hit the curb. He says the little boy was smiling when he got to him. "He seemed to be having a great time rolling down the hill... he seemed to enjoy it," Blackburn said. The frantic woman arrived seconds later. "She came running in -- she was freaked out and was shaking and... I don't even think she said anything, she just grabbed the kid and ran away," Blackburn said. "She was just really, really shook up."

He says he was in the right place at the right time because the FedEx truck going through the intersection would likely have never seen the stroller had it not been for all the horn honking. Blackburn was asked if he had seen anything before in the three years he's been on the route. "No, this is the first. People usually hold on to their children," he laughed.
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Special Thanks to Anonymous MEEBO Guest for this Submission.

12 comments:

MaryPoppin'Pills said...

Kudos to whomever can find the name of this lady... she deserves a big raspberry for leaving the child alone up on a big hill and then hardly saying a thank you to her rescuer.

The Noble Nanny said...

HILL, CART ON WHEELS (essentially), BUSY TRAFFIC, hmmm...maybe this mom might have wanted to thought that one through...

Theresa said...

In one of the interviews on tv, they were questioning whether it may have been a babysitter as the woman hurried away quickly. It may have been, or she could have simply been freaked out by what happened.

you need a moniker! said...

RE-POSTED for Anonymous said...

Regardless of whether she's freaked out or not, she could have thanked this man for potentially saving this baby's life. DUMB. ASS.

Karma said...

I agree with "you need a moniker", how could this bitch walk off and not thank that guy? Unbelieveable!

ELam said...

Oh crap I have no idea why I posted anonymously..my b! It's Elam =)

ericsmom said...

Also kuddos for the woman in the video. She basically stopped the stroller. Great job on both their parts!!

MissMannah said...

"No, this is the first. People usually hold on to their children."

Ha! I love that quote! I can't believe what a dumbass that mom (nanny?) is.

SeattleNanny said...

Oh wow. As a nanny in Seattle, I have encountered some very, very steep hills and one of my biggest fears is the stroller getting away! I hold on with an iron grip. I can't believe she tried to park it sideways. I can tell you one thing- I bet you this was a mom... Just because she took off does not mean it is a nanny. Most of the crazy kid almost getting hurt type things I have seen have been the moms because there are so many mom groups that get together and chat/hang out. Recently two nanny friends and I sat at a local beach and there was a large group of moms (from a very popular local moms group) letting their toddlers roam. We watched helplessly until we finally interfered when we saw one of the two year olds attempting to climb the lifeguard chair that is about 10 feet up next to the water. I have a lot of mom friends so I am not trying to bash the wonderful moms out there- I'm just trying to point out that most of the time nannies are watching even closer than parents because we (at least those of us with good sense) are not able to let our guard down the way people can with their own children.

Goose said...

I want to know what kind of stroller that is!! That thing jumped the curb!

Nanny 1 said...

She should of put the brake on , on the stroller. Thank goodness the truck driver was there to help save the baby.

Brit nanny said...

Yikes, lucky baby! What a great guy, can't believe the woman didn't even say thankyou, no matter how shocked she was, he just saved her baby's life! The first thing I would do after grabbing the baby is thank the guy 1000 times over. But then I wouldn't leave a pram at the top of a steep hill on a busy road...

If the woman was a nanny, she won't be for much longer. Imagine the parents watching the news and seeing their baby's pram rolling down a hill and across a road.