Good NewsQuick-thinking movers catch falling toddler with mattress
On Sunday afternoon, Konrad and Jennifer Lightner moved out of their Burbank, California, apartment.
As they carried load after load of their belongings down an alleyway to where their U-Haul trailer was parked, they noticed a toddler and his older sister throwing toys out of a nearby third-storey window.
They yelled at them to stop.
Then the three-year-old boy swung his leg over the window sill, determined to go after his toys.
Fortunately, the toddler pulled the daredevil move just as the Lightners were dragging their mattress out of their apartment.
"We called 911 and Konrad threw the box spring down trying to break his fall and stood there to catch him," said Jennifer.
Sure enough, after getting tangled in some telephone lines, the toddler fell — and landed in Konrad's arms. Together, Konrad and the toddler tumbled onto the box spring.
By the time emergency crews arrived, the child was safely on the ground.
"We were lucky to be there," said Konrad.
The toddler's parents, who were unaware that their boy was playing by an open window, heard the commotion and ran outside to find their son, uninjured, with his new heroes. They expressed their deep gratitude to the Lightners for their quick-thinking.
And after being honoured by firefighters — a firefighter gave Konrad a "challenge coin" which celebrates brave acts and good deeds — the Lightners continued with their move.
A firefighter helped them carry their mattress to the U-Haul.
"It was very surreal afterwards. We were just moving the rest of day and every once in a while we'd look at each other and just be like, 'That happened. That was real,'" said Jennifer.
The toddler was checked out at a local hospital where he was treated for only very minor injuries.
