PEORIA, AZ — A 5-year-old boy wandered into oncoming traffic and was rescued by a good Samaritan.
Video obtained by ABC15 shows the boy walking the center yellow line, crossing into the middle of the intersection near 71st and Peoria avenues.
Simultaneously, Dakota McDonald noticed and pulled over. He sprinted towards the little boy as he was just feet away from being hit by oncoming cars. He blocked him from getting hit.
“I sat him down and I gave him some like the goldfish crackers,” McDonald explained. “That's all I had in my truck for a snack. So, I gave him some water in that because I honestly didn't know where he came from, how long he'd been out, or anything.”
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McDonald tells ABC15, "This happened when I just had my son. He was like, six months old, so that heightened sense was really going on. And I was like, kid in the middle of the street, that's not happening.”
McDonald adds, “I didn't think of it as anything heroic. I just, hey, that's the right thing to do.”
The 5-year-old is nonverbal and wandered away from Ira Murphy Elementary School. Thankfully, police were able to get him back home safely with his family.
Peoria police recognized McDonald for his heroic actions. He was given a Citizen Commendation from the department.
