Connecticut Barbers Save Toddler from Oncoming Traffic: ‘I Had No Choice But to Run’
Surveillance footage captured the two heroes running after and picking up the child in the nick of time
Osvaldo Lugo/Instagram
Camera footage showed the moment a barber was running after and then rescuing a child who was heading towards oncoming traffic in East Hartford, Conn., on April 25, 2024The East Hartford Police Department confirmed that a child escaped from their mother and ran towards busy traffic
In footage posted on his Instagram account, barbers Osvaldo Lugo and Rafael Santana saw the running child from their window and went into action
“Everybody is thankful that nothing else happened,” Lugo said, per the New Haven Register
Two barbers in Connecticut are being hailed as heroes after they ran out of their establishment to rescue a child who was running into traffic on April 10.
Osvaldo Lugo, one of the employees of LookSharp Barbershop in East Hartford, posted surveillance footage of the dramatic rescue on his Instagram account, the New Haven Register reported.
As depicted in the clip, the child can be seen heading towards moving vehicles. According to the East Hartford Police in its April 23 Facebook post, the toddler escaped from their mother and ran towards the traffic on Main Street.
From the window inside their barbershop, Lugo and Rafael Santana noticed what was happening. As reported by ABC affiliate KABC, per the footage, the two dropped their scissors, ran out the door, went after and picked up the child just in the nick of time.
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"I was right in the middle of the haircut," Lugo said, per KABC. "My reaction is like, 'Oh, my God! What just happened?'"
He also told the Register about witnessing the running child from the window: “Once I saw that, I had no choice but to run. There was no time to double-take.”
The hero barber later located the shocked mother at a nearby bus stop and helped reunite her with her child.
“Everybody is thankful that nothing else happened,” Lugo said, per the Register.
In his April 11 Instagram post featuring the rescue footage, Lugo wrote in the caption: “This was a scary experience, I’m still a little shaken up! #lookbothways #safe #safetyfirst #hero."
The clip was overlaid with the text: “Thankfully not today!!!!”
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In its Facebook post, the East Hartford Police Department praised the barbers’ deed.
“Today, we want to give a massive shoutout to the quick-thinking and brave duo, Osvaldo Lugo and Rafael Santana of LookSharp Barbershop," the department's message read. "Thanks to them, a potential tragedy was averted, and a family remains whole. We’re incredibly grateful for these everyday heroes among us!”
PEOPLE contacted Lugo and the East Hartford Police Department for additional information, but they did not immediately respond.
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