The hero who rescued the baby spoke to NBCLA. Tony Shin reports May 3, 2023.
Surveillance video that leaves your heart in your throat was getting shared widely across social media after it showed wind blowing a stroller down a high desert driveway and right toward a busy Hesperia road. Thankfully a good Samaritan comes to the rescue.
The man who saved the baby boy spoke to NBCLA for the first time about the heart-stopping save.
Updated Article: Baby Stroller Hero Lands Job
In the video, you see the stroller start rolling down the driveway at A1 Hand Car Wash. The baby boy's great aunt tries to run after it, but collapses to her knees.
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"I heard screaming to the right," said Donna Gunderson.
Donna Gunderson was sitting at a nearby patio when she heard the screams for help.
"And I look back and I see a stroller going down the driveway and my heart dropped," she said.
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At that exact moment, Gunderson sees her brother Ron Nessman running toward the stroller which was also being pushed by strong winds blowing through the high desert. The stroller was heading directly toward Bear Valley Road.
"The cars do 50-55 and it was a busy time of day," Gunderson said.
But just before the stroller rolls into traffic, Nessman grabs it.
"I knew I could get it and I got it and I'm thankful for that because I really wouldn't want to see the end result if I wasn't there," he said.
Nessman was there because he had just come from a job interview at a nearby Applebee's. He's been living with his sister for the past three months after being homeless for about eight years, in part because of depression from his girlfriend passing away.
"I decided to get right. If you want something different in your life, you do something different and that's where I am at today. I thank my sister for helping me out. She's always been there for me," he said.
He's also thankful that the baby boy is OK, and so is the great aunt who suffered injuries to her knees.
"She tried everything she possibly could to get up. Her knees were bleeding when I got up to her. She was still shocked and she was crying," he said.
Gunderson says this frightening video should be a lesson to anyone who uses a stroller: Don't forget to lock the wheels on hills or even on windy days.
"Just as simple as hitting the brake," she said.
Nessman says he is still looking for a job and he’s hoping some employer will see this story and give him an opportunity.
