Life
Good Samaritan becomes hero after leaping into water to save toddler who fell from bridge
The accident was bad enough and he refused to let the toddler drown.
Cherie Gozon
05.11.21

Not all heroes wear capes.

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In this story, particularly, this hero doesnโ€™t have a unique costume or power. All he had was the instinct to save a life.

This is Jonathan Bauer.

For a while, he was known as the โ€˜Good Samaritan.โ€™ Not much was known about him except for the heroic act he did.

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So, what exactly did Jonathan do?

Last May 23, the Ocean City Police Department was called to the scene where a 5-vehicle accident took place in Route 90 Bridge around 2:45 PM. The cars were wrecked beyond what you could imagine.

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One of the vehicles was dangling by the side of the bridge.

Judging by the pick-up truckโ€™s position, itโ€™s something (or someone) that must have fallen off from the car. True enough, there was.

A two-year-old toddler on her back.

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Jonathan saw this and never thought twice of jumping off the guardrail and into the Assawoman Bay to save the child. He saw and took the child to his arms.

But one good thing inspired others also to reach out a hand.

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On one side, the Oertel Family was nearby and also saw the accident. They thought the same thing as Jonathan โ€“ that someone fell off from the truck to the water. They sped up to the area by the scene and saw Jonathan carrying the toddler.

They helped him and the baby out of the water.

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For a while, Jonathan was just known as the โ€˜Good Samaritanโ€™ who jumped off the bridge. A humble man as he is, he wanted to stay anonymous, but the world wanted to recognize the good he did.

He spoke in front of the public for the first time the Friday after the incident. He has met numerous emergency officials in Ocean City who helped him in that rescue. It was then when all the peopleโ€™s questions were answered.

What was the first thing that crossed his mind? Why did he do what he did? Jonathan recalled the accident scene and shared that the first thing he remembers was hearing cars screech, some yelling, and seeing a truck in the railing. Thatโ€™s when he saw someone teetering at the edge of the guardrail, not saying anything but pointed to the water below.

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โ€œWhen I looked over, I saw the car seat, some items, and then about 6 feet from the car seat was the little girl.โ€

But even with the limelight on him, Jonathan said he came over to thank them.

He thanked the rest of the emergency crew and the Oertel Family for staying with his daughter in his car and for helping him out of the water with the baby in his arms.

For Jonathan, that act wasnโ€™t just all about him. It was a team effort.

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He gave credit to the Oertel Family, the local policemen, firefighters, and paramedics who helped everyone involved in the accident.

โ€œThis is a team effort, not one person. But a team was successful on that day,โ€ he said during his public appearance.

Luckily, everyone in the vehicles survived.

A salute to everyone who helped and acted on the scene right away.

And a big thanks to Jonathan Bauer!

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