APS worker saves child from running into traffic

APS employee saves toddler on the run

A toddler running down a busy street in downtown Phoenix was rescued by an APS worker. The incident happened in March and the heart-stopping moment was caught on camera. FOX 10's Ashlie Rodriguez reports.

PHOENIX - Right place at the right time, or divine intervention?

What they're saying:

Surveillance video shows the moments just after 3:10 p.m. on March 19 when APS troubleshooter Robert Butler is driving down Grant Street and 2nd Avenue. He notices a wagon and umbrella on the sidewalk. Thinking it's odd, he then realizes that a toddler, estimated to be around 3 years old, is booking it up the sidewalk, unaware that a very busy street is ahead of him.

Butler says his heart dropped. He quickly pulled over and grabbed the child before he got to the intersection.

(APS)

"Thinking back on it now, I’m not sure if it was god or something was divine intervention," said Butler. "I don’t know, but there was something that day that was off than normal that just put me at the right place or right time. I just think about when I get home and my son’s happy to see me. So just thinking that – that little boy can be happy to see his parents or whoever."

Butler says when he ran out of his truck, he could hear a woman screaming down the road. He quickly reunited the child with her, and they were off.

She's one lucky woman who hopefully learned a powerful lesson, and that toddler had angels, one of them being Butler.

Map of area where the incident happened: