Last Wednesday during an ice storm, a tree branch brought a power line down on top of a parked car in Northeast Portland, killing the mother, father, and uncle of an infant inside the vehicle.
From within her nearby home, 18-year-old Majiah Washington heard the tree land on the car and then watched in horror as the scene unfolded. She saw Mom & Dad had been killed by the tree in the front seat. A downed power line had started a fire under the car and from her window she could see the Uncle attempt to escape with the baby in his arms but the live wire hit his leg and killed him as well. The baby went flying and crawled to her father who had been ejected from the vehicle. The baby was on his chest. While on the phone with emergency services, Majiah thought that the emergency response team wouldn't arrive before the dancing live wire hit the baby so she made the decision to go and get her. The driveway was icy so she she moved slowly staying low to avoid slipping into the downed line. Remarkably, she was able to retrieve the baby without harming herself or the child.
The 911 operator was encouraging Majiah to wait for the professionals but she says “The only thing I could think about was he was still here,” she said. “I wasn’t thinking ‘Oh, I can be electrocuted.’ I was thinking, ‘I need to grab this baby.I would think any sane person would do what they can to save a baby.’”
Medical professionals fortunately found the baby to be in good health, and while the community is mourning the tragic deaths of the parents and uncle, they are praising Washington’s bravery. Portland Fire & Rescue spokesperson Rick Graves expressed amazement at how she and the baby survived the incident unscathed, attributing the miraculous outcome to Washington's heroic act.