Heroic Teen Saves Baby After Parents Electrocuted by Downed Power Cable in Portland

APThe car with the downed power cable

NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 10:41

An 18-year-old woman has rescued a nine-month-old baby in the US city of Portland after his parents and another family member were electrocuted by a downed power line. The power line had come down during winter weather due to a broken branch.

Majiah Washington was in her own home when she saw a flash of the power line coming down on the family’s car. Through her window she saw the father trying to get away from the vehicle with his child.

“He had the baby in his arms and tried to walk away, but he fell in the driveway and his foot slid on the cable. There was a flame and some smoke,” Washington said at a news conference called by emergency services a day after kept the accident.

APMajiah Washington

After the man was killed, the 21-year-old mother tried to reach the child. She also lost her grip in the hectic pace and slid against the streamline. The pregnant woman also did not survive.

While Washington was on the phone with emergency services, the mother’s 15-year-old brother also rushed to the child, again with the same result. “I had said ‘don’t go there’,” the father of the mother and her brother told the local station. “But he slipped, came into contact with the water and also died.”

Bowed down

Washington decided to help herself when she saw that the child was still alive. The boy had landed on his father’s body and was unharmed. “I saw him move his head, so I knew he was alive.”

Crouching to avoid the streamline above her head, she carefully glided over the slippery road surface towards the family. Although she came into contact with the father’s body, she managed to get away safely with the child in her arms.

“All I could think about was him. I didn’t think about the fact that I could be electrocuted myself, all I thought was ‘I have to get that baby away’.”

More deaths

The emergency services praise Washington, who intervened at the risk of his own life. According to them, the boy owes his life to her. She is convinced that anyone else would have done the same.

At least twelve people have died in the region in recent days due to extreme winter weather. In addition to the electrocution, several people were hit by branches that collapsed under the weight of snow and ice, several people froze to death and two people were killed in a fire that was probably caused by a generator after a power outage.

2024-01-19 09:41:24
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