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Jonathan Bauer is afraid of heights, but that didn’t stop him from leaping off a bridge some 25 to 40 feet to the water below to save a little girl’s life.
On May 2, Bauer and his teenage daughter Ava were running errands when they got caught in a serious five-car pileup on the Route 90 bridge over Maryland’s Assawoman Bay. The accident sent eight people to the hospital and left a pickup truck dangling precariously over the guardrail.
After making sure Ava was okay, Bauer got out of his car to see if anyone needed help. As he headed toward the teetering truck, its passenger alerted him to a heart-wrenching sight a toddler, ejected from the passenger side, was floating in the bay, her pink dress billowing in the waves.
UpdatedMon, May 10, 2021 at 12:57 pm ET
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Jonathan Bauer has since been honored with a plaque from Ocean City Mayor Richard W. Meehan, who called Bauer a humble hero. (Shutterstock)
OCEAN CITY, MD A terrifying multi-car crash unfolded on the Route 90 bridge in Ocean City May 2, launching a 2-year-old girl still strapped into her car seat into the Assawoman Bay. The truck she was riding in ended up positioned on top of the guardrail. But a good Samaritan leaped over the guardrail and into the bay to rescue her.
Initially, the hero chose to remain anonymous but has since come forward. Jonathan Bauer spoke with NBC Washington about what happened during that five-car pileup on the bridge. Bauer was traveling with his 13-year-old daughter, Ava, and their vehicle was one of the five involved in the crash.
I popped up, swam over to the girl and lifted her out of the water, Bauer said. Her mouth was open, her eyes were semi open. And then I raised my shoulder very high and aggressively patted her on her back. Within seconds she spit up a bunch of water and started coughing.
A nearby boat picked up the child and Bauer to take them to shore, where emergency responders met them.
Watching her father leap from the bridge scared Ava, she said. She worried her father would land head first in the Assawoman Bay and hurt himself, or even worse. He landed feet first.
I popped up, swam over to the girl and lifted her out of the water, Bauer said. Her mouth was open, her eyes were semi open. And then I raised my shoulder very high and aggressively patted her on her back. Within seconds she spit up a bunch of water and started coughing.
A nearby boat picked up the child and Bauer to take them to shore, where emergency responders met them.
Watching her father leap from the bridge scared Ava, she said. She worried her father would land head first in the Assawoman Bay and hurt himself, or even worse. He landed feet first.
Toddler Thrown From Truck Into Bay in Crash Then Heroic Bystander Leaps In, Saves Her Life
A toddler was thrown from a truck, off a bridge, and into the water of a bay in Maryland during a vehicle collision on May 2. Heroically, a good Samaritan leapt in and retrieved the baby girl with help from nearby boaters.
The five-car crash occurred just before 3 p.m. on a Route 90 bridge connecting Ocean City to the rest of Worcester County. The impact threw a 23-month-old, still in her car seat, from one of the vehicles into Assawoman Bay, according to a press release.