OCEAN CITY, Md. — A good Samaritan who jumped off a Maryland bridge and into a bay to save a 2-year-old girl last week is now speaking out about his experience.
The little girl was ejected from a pickup truck on May 2 during a crash on the Route 90 bridge in Ocean City. The truck was left teetering over a guardrail.
The collision involved five vehicles, including the one Jonathan Bauer and his daughter, Ava, in.
During a press conference on Friday, Bauer described what went through his head before jumping into action.
He said when he first saw the girl in the water, she was on her back floating, but when he saw her flipped over, he jumped in.
“When I hit, I hit like feet first, knees and then arms, and was fine. I popped up, swam over to the girl, lifted her out of the water and looked at her,” said Bauer.
Bauer said the girl's mouth was open and her eyes were semi-open.
"And then I, uh, put her against my shoulder, very high, and aggressively pat her on the back. And within seconds, she spit up a bunch of water, a lot of water. And then, uh, started coughing and then took a deep breath,” said Bauer.
The father and daughter were emotional at the press conference. Ava said she was scared her dad would die or be paralyzed from jumping off the bridge.
The crash sent the little girl and seven others to the hospital. They've all since been released.
