FORT WORTH — The police officers had just begun their shifts last Thursday when they saw the crash, a red car flipping over on Interstate 30, near Eastchase Parkway.
Officer Edwin Bounds and Sgt. Ryan Nichols raced toward the wreckage, approaching the crash like any other. Scan the scene. Take a mental inventory. Figure out what needs to happen.
This would not be like any other crash the veteran officers had worked, though. Standing by the car, a woman was screaming “My baby, my baby.”
Bounds and Nichols peered into the car to get a closer look and spotted a baby girl — wearing cozy blue pants and tiny green socks — trapped beneath thousands of pounds of mangled steel.
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The story of what happened next has gone viral in recent days, with news outlets in Texas and across the country sharing the body camera footage provided by the Fort Worth Police Department.
Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Nichols said he initially thought the baby was dead. Still, he knew they needed to do something.
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By this time, a handful of passersby had stopped to help, gathering in the yellowed grass beside the highway. Some comforted the mother while others flanked the officers.
“We need to move the car,” one of the officers yelled, and video shows several people placing their hands on the wreckage.
“Keep moving, keep moving,” he yelled. They lifted the car just enough for the officer to grab the baby’s leg and pull her from beneath the car.
At first, the baby lay limp and silent. The officers turned her to the side, and Bounds cleared her airway, removing grass or debris stuck in her mouth. With his fingers, Nichols pushed on her small chest.
“She has a pulse,” an officer yelled. “I can feel her breathing.”
“Come on baby,” one said. “Come on, little mama.”
Softly, the baby began to make little noises. Then six minutes after she was pulled out, she let out a wail.
When they heard that cry, the officers, who are both fathers, said they felt like they could take a breath.
The baby was taken to Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth and is expected to make a full recovery, police say.
Fort Worth Police Chief Eddie García said he watched the body camera footage and knew it should be shared to demonstrate the humanity of police work.
“Far too often these good deeds go unnoticed,” he said, adding that the officers used “dad strength” to rescue the baby. “There is no better example of protecting and serving.”
Both officers said they were grateful for the drivers who stopped to help and the community’s support. Bounds said he hopes this will serve as a reminder of good.
“There are good people in this world. This video shows it, from people talking to the mom to helping us lift the car,” he said. “There’s a lot of bad things in this world right now, but we need to remember there’s also a lot of good.”