A good Samaritan and a retired police officer are responsible for finding a 3-year-old boy who wandered away from his home and ended up on the 210 Freeway in San Bernardino, California, Saturday.
KABC reported that the boy, who had been reported missing by his mother 45 minutes earlier, was found by a self-identified retired police officer on the right-hand lane of the freeway.
KABC reported that police had been searching the family's large property when the man called police about the boy.
"At about 9:11 a.m., we were notified that CHP had received a phone call from a gentleman identifying himself as a retired Los Angeles police officer," Bernardino police Sgt.Vicki Cervantes told KABC. "He'd advised he was out in the eastbound 210 Freeway with a toddler. He stopped abruptly, jumped out of his vehicle and was able to grab the little guy and take him to safety."
"(The self-identified retired officer) also reported several cars appeared to have swerved around to actually avoid hitting the child, prior to him grabbing a hold of the child," Cervantes said. "So this could have really had a disastrous ending, and I'm just very grateful it did not."
Authorities said the boy appeared to have wandered off on his own, walking nearly two blocks to get to the freeway offramp and ending up in the right-hand lane.
Police said the parents are not facing charges of child neglect.
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