Photo: Getty Images
An 18-year-old girl in Oregon is being hailed a hero after she helped save a nine-month-old baby from a deadly collapsed power line, NBC News reports.
Majiah Washington rushed to rescue the baby after spotting a downed power line on top of an SUV outside of her window in Portland, where a dangerous ice storm had hit. A couple was trying to put their baby in the car when the power line fell.
A man grabbed the child from a woman and attempted to get up a slick driveway to safety. Before he made it halfway, the man slid backward down the driveway and his foot touched a live wire.
Washington recalled there being "a little fire, then smoke."
The woman, six months pregnant, then tried to reach the baby, but she also slipped and was electrocuted. Her 15-year-old brother came outside to try to help and was also shocked to death.
Washington said she decided to try to save the nine-month-old, who was still alive and lying on top of his father. The teen said she kept a low crouch to avoid sliding into the wire. Washington managed to grab the baby without being shocked.
Portland Fire and Rescue spokesman Rick Graves applauded Washington for her heroism.
“We do have fortunately with us a toddler that is going to be able to thrive and do what they possibly can as they move forward,” Graves said. “And they are here, in part, because of the heroic acts of a member of our community.
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