Man Looks Up, Saves 2-Year-Old Boy Falling from 5th Floor Window
For parents, few childhood accidents are as frightening as falls, but the providential actions of a Chinese bystander saved one toddler from such an accident.
The incident occurred on May 23 in Yining’s Renhe Residential District, an area in northwest China called the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, according to the Daily Mail.
A 28-year-old man named Tonik Turghanbek had just parked his car at the curb.
Black-and-white CCTV footage showed Turghanbek opening his door. He began to step out, but his gaze suddenly shot up.
The reason why became quickly apparent. A toddler had plunged from a window in an adjacent, multi-story residential build and was plummeting straight for him.
Falls such as that aren’t just a problem abroad. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that some 9.2 million young Americans need treatment for nonfatal injuries annually.
Falls made up 2.8 million of those cases.
Indeed, they had a greater impact on littler patients. For children younger than 12 months, falls accounted for half of their nonfatal hurts.
The case involving Turghanbek was nonfatal. As the child plummeted toward the pavement, Turghanbek rushed forward.
His feet beat a stuttering step on the asphalt as he tried to position himself. His arms thrust out to make the catch.
“The moment I saw it, he was already falling. I thought of nothing at the moment, and then I caught him,” Turghanbek said, according to Inside Edition.
Well, Turghanbek attempted the catch at least. The child slipped between his hands and struck him in the chest before hitting the pavement.
The impact knocked Turghanbek out for a short time, but his intervention proved enough to save the toddler’s life.
“I don’t know what happened after that, as I fainted for a while,” he said. “When I woke up, police and rescuers were all here.”
Thanks to his quick thinking, the child didn’t suffer any major injuries, and Turghanbek himself only had minor cuts.
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