Heroes Catch Falling Toddler

Two New York men are being hailed as heroes after catching a toddler who fell four stories from a fire escape in the Bronx.

Julio Gonzalez, 43, and Pedro Nevarez, 40, were alerted to the situation by neighbors and onlookers who were screaming frantically as the drama unfolded.

The 3 year old boy, Timothy Addo, had crawled out of an open window on the fifth floor of the building, unbeknownst to his babysitter. He then fell through a gap to the fire escape below. The toddler was dangling from the fourth floor level, forty feet above the street, when Gonzalez and Nevarez happened to see him.

The two men realized the boy was hanging on for dear life and that he was going to fall. As the young child's grip started to give way, the two men rushed to position themselves under the fire escape hoping to catch him.

Neighbors watched in horror as the three year old lost his grip and started to drop four stories. The child hit a tree branch while falling then plummeted into the chest of Mr. Nevarez so hard that he knocked him over. The toddler bounced off of Nevarez and landed safe in the arms of Mr. Gonzalez.

Timothy was taken to a local hospital where he was treated for a cut on his forehead. His mother, 26-year-old Katrina Cosme, who was at work during the ordeal, later reported to the media that the little boy was doing fine.

Police said that they had spoken to the babysitter and that an investigation into the incident was underway.

Mr. Nevarez later told the press "I'm not a hero. I just did what any other father would do. When you're a father, you would do this whether it's your child or not."

Initial reports have not revealed whether Mr. Nevarez suffered any injuries when he broke Timothy's fall but the two men were relieved that the child was unharmed.

The miraculous catch of young Addo came just two days after Wesley Autrey became the "Hero of Harlem" by rescuing a teenager who had fallen unconscious on a subway track. And just one day after three police officers delivered a baby in the subway.

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly is calling the first days of January 2007 "a week of heroes here in New York."

And good deeds seem to beget more good deeds in New York this year. Autrey has been honored with the city's highest award for civic achievement (in company with previous recipients Muhammad Ali and Martin Luther King, Jr.). He also received $10,000 from Donald Trump, a trip to Disney World and a year's free subway travel.

Sources:
"Passers-by catch tumbling toddler" AP on MSN.com, January 5, 2007
"Two NYC men save falling toddler" AP on Yahoo.com, January 5, 2007