A terrifying video shared by police shows just how quickly a toddler can get into danger after slipping out of their parents’ sight.
The clip, which was shared on Twitter by Michigan State Police, shows a toddler in Alcona County running away from her home and into the street.
Thankfully, the little girl was spotted by Sgt. Joseph Richards, who was sitting in his patrol car nearby.
The officer quickly pulled up near the child and grabbed her just as she started to run back into the street. As he grabbed her, a garbage truck flew past.
According to a statement from Michigan State Police, the garbage truck driver tried to stop when they spotted the toddler in the road but was unable to break in time.
That means the officer may just have saved the little girl’s life. The statement read:
If not for Sgt. Richards’ quick action, this incident would have ended in tragedy.
The child’s mother can be seen sprinting from the house in the video. She told the officer that she lost track of the child for “just seconds.”
No charges were filed in the incident, and the mother was safely reunited with her daughter.
Watch the video below:
Sgt. Richards from the Alpena Post was on patrol Friday when this happened: A 2-year-old girl was nearly struck by a passing dump-truck. The child’s mother said she lost sight of the child for just seconds. The child was returned to her mother, unharmed. #ThinBlueLine pic.twitter.com/pJeOVRakN3
— @MSPNorthernMI (@mspnorthernmi)