Body camera footage of Texas police officers reporting to a nerve-wracking crash scene involving a baby documented an amazing recovery by officers and bystanders.
The Fort Worth Police Department posted the video of the rescue on social media, which quickly went viral. According to the post, the car accident occurred on I-30 on the morning of Thursday, Oct. 23. Officers were notified that a woman and her one-year-old child were thrown from the vehicle.
Officer Buddy Calzada later explained to ABC News that Sgt. R. Nichols and Officer E. Bounds — the first to arrive at the scene — didn’t need to wait for a call to come in.
“Fortunately, these officers were actually a few vehicles behind this accident that took place,” Calzada said. “So as the call came out and got dispatched, these officers were rolling up on-scene within seconds.”
Body cam footage shows Nichols running to a car lying upside-down in grass just off the road. Bystanders who had stopped at the crash scene immediately help look for the child. To one side a few yards away, the child’s mother is distressed as she cries out for her baby.
“Under here, we need to move the car,” Nichols says to the other motorists, explaining he believes the child is trapped underneath. The citizens immediately begin lifting the vehicle with the officer. “Keep moving, keep moving.”
As soon as the car is lifted off the child, Nichols grabs the child’s leg and pulls her out and into the grass beside the vehicle. The baby was initially unresponsive but had a pulse. While Bounds opens her airway, Nichols begins CPR with two fingers.
After a tense two minutes, the baby makes noises then begins to cry. Both the child and the mother were reportedly in stable condition the next day and are “expected to make a full recovery,” according to Fort Worth PD.
“You know, we always look at the definition of ‘hero,'” Calzada said. “You don’t have to look anymore, you watch this video and you’ll see it yourself.”
“Although this video may be extremely difficult to watch, it is an important example of the kinds of situations that our police officers may come across while performing their duties,” the post by Fort Worth PD reads.
“We are beyond proud of the life-saving actions performed by Sgt. Nichols and Officer Bounds for their bravery and quick response to this terrible scene,” the post concludes. “We are also grateful to the Fort Worth citizens who saw someone in danger and, without hesitation, assisted our officers.”
— The Associated Press contributed to this report.