A parent’s number one job is always to help keep their child safe and healthy.
Unfortunately, not everyone puts their child’s safety first, which can cause life-threatening injuries or even death.
While all neglectful parents are eventually brought to justice and many children are saved, it’s only thanks to Good Samaritans who will risk their own safety to save these children in neglectful or even abusive homes. Without the help of these amazing people, our world would be very different.
One of these truly incredibly people is retired police officer Steve Eckel. While he no longer wears his police uniform, he still hasn’t given up on his duty to protect and serve those around him. If he sees an injustice, he will be one of the first people trying to stop it.
And that’s exactly what he did when he was in a parking lot one day. While he and another stranger were walking back to their car, they heard a faint noise that sounded like a baby crying. When they followed the sounds they were lead to a car that had its windows rolled up and inside was a little baby girl crying.
The baby was alone in the car and with no airflow, the car was only going to get hotter.
When Steve looked in the car he was horrified to see a poor four-month-old baby screaming and crying. She was attempting to reach out, her entire outfit covered in sweat. She wasn’t going to last long.
While he immediately called the police, he also knew that he couldn’t just let her sit in there while they waited. Steve was a father himself, so just letting a child struggle to stay alive right before his eyes was too much. He had to do something.
That’s when he remembered that he had a sledgehammer stowed in his car. He was going to break open one of the car windows, away from the baby, so that she could be removed from the boiling hot car.
It was a risky move, as he might have faced charges for damaging the car, but he knew it was much more important that the baby girl was safe. Thankfully, she is safe and sound with the appropriate authorities who will help find her a loving home that won’t leave her in a boiling hot car.
As for the mother, justice was quickly served. Police were told that she had left her baby girl in the car for a whopping 40 minutes! The police then arrested her and charged her. Hopefully this will be an important lesson for the mother that she should never neglect her child. Thankfully, the baby was saved but the incident could’ve been so much worse had Steve Eckel not heard the baby crying.
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