Hero Lyft Driver Sees Rain-Soaked Toddler Walking Down Street During Storm And Pulls Her Into Car

Feb 24, 2019 by apost team

Police in Santa Rosa, CA, are hailing local Lyft driver Del Hedrick as a “community hero” after he rescued a lone toddler from a dark parking lot, in wet and dangerously cold conditions.

At 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday, February 12, Hedrick was dropping off a customer at an apartment complex when he caught sight of a little girl, no older than two, who was unaccompanied and had wandered into the path of his car.

He said, "Well, I’m dropping somebody off at this apartment complex and I found this little baby walking around… no shoes on.”

“Rain is pouring, it’s 40 degrees outside and I froze,” Hedrick said. “It was scary. It was a really scary moment.”

Hedrick, who is a father of two himself, sprang into action, leaping from his car to reach the young girl. After a nearby search for the toddler’s caretakers turned up no one who even recognized her, Hedrick pulled the toddler into his car, where he cranked up the heat “to warm her up and calm her down.”

“She was barefoot, soaking wet, onesie soaking, wet hair,  full diaper--yeah, it was heartbreaking,” Hedrick said.

The Santa Rosa Police later posted a video, shot by Hedrick, in which he sat in the car, with the toddler, and attempted to comfort her. “Cops are on their way,” he told her.

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Fortunately, just 20 minutes after Hedrick called 911, the police were able to reunite the toddler with her family. According to Sergeant Jeneane Kucker, the toddler only made it about 75 feet from her home, after simply walking out an open door.

Kucker said that police do not suspect that abuse or neglect played a role in the child’s escape.

Instead, the incident is being put down to a miscommunication between the child’s mother and her babysitter. When police arrived, both the babysitter and the toddler’s sister were already searching the area for her.

And so, thanks to Hedrick’s swift actions, the young girl safely reunited with her family.

In the same Facebook post where the Santa Rosa Police called Hedrick a community hero, they also said that his actions “demonstrate how we all work together to keep our community safe.”

Hedrick was reportedly a little shaken by the incident, despite the toddler’s safe return, and “hugged his own kids tight,” upon returning home.

Do know anyone else (be they a parent or otherwise) who'd want to read about Hedrick's late-night rescue? Just point them towards this article!