A heroic man dove into Lake Michigan to save an 8-month-old baby after her stroller was caught in a gust of wind.
The Chicago Police Department told Just Jared that the incident occurred around 3 p.m. on Wednesday (February 18).
“Multiple witnesses on scene quickly reacted and rescued the child from the water,” the release read, noting that the baby was treated at Lurie’s Children’s Hospital and was “initially listed in good condition.”
One of the Good Samaritans involved was Lio Cundiff, who told CBS News that he immediately leaped into action and dove into the water even though he didn’t know how to swim.
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Cundiff, 30, told ABC7 that the little girl’s mother, who has not been identified by name, was too shocked to move when the incident occurred.
“I can tell she was too panicked to do anything, so I was, like, ‘I guess I’m jumping in,’ ” he recalled. “That baby was — I wasn’t going to let that baby die.”
He added that he was “just glad the stroller was up, not face down.”
The brave man told CBS that there was “one moment” where he was concerned that he wouldn’t be able to keep himself and the baby above the water, saying, “I was like, I don’t know how much longer I’m gonna hold on, so, like, I just kind of grabbed her hand and just, like, rubbed her hand a little.”
Others on the scene were quick to offer help, but Cundiff told WGN9 that he was “the only one in the water.”
“Another guy came down the ladder to get the stroller out, and the mom kind of helped as well on the ladder, and then once we got the baby out I was able to get myself out,” he explained, adding that he thought the mom was possibly Ukrainian and that a “language barrier” existed between her and the rescuers.
One of the people who leapt to action was Luis Kapost, a 43-year-old pilot for American Airlines. He told the Chicago Sun Times that helped keep Cundiff and the baby afloat by tossing one end of his jacket toward them.
“I’m holding one sleeve, he’s holding the other, and at least they’re not floating away,” he said.
Cundiff and the baby’s mother were also hospitalized, with the hero being kept overnight at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center due to concerns over “elevated heart enzymes.”
“If all the results turn out OK, and they’re not seeing anything, I should be able to leave today,” he told the Chicago Sun Times.
Reflecting on the incident, he kept the baby’s mother in his thoughts, saying, “I hope the mom has grace with herself and doesn’t beat herself up too much about it.”
“It’s not like she wasn’t with the baby. … It’s not her fault, and I really hope she knows that,” he added.
He told CBS that he learned something about himself after helping with the brave rescue: “Turns out I’m a fighter, I guess. Always though I was a runner, I guess not today.”