Two barbers sprang into action to prevent a child from wandering into traffic, demonstrating their quick thinking and paternal instincts.
Surveillance footage shared on Instagram by Osvaldo Lugo, owner of Look Sharp Barbershop, and his employee Rafael Santana, captures the moment they dashed out of the shop after noticing a young girl running alone down the street. Santana recounted to TODAY.com that he was cutting hair in the East Hartford barbershop when he saw a small pink reflection zip by the window.
"I said, ‘Yo, there’s a little girl by herself,'" Santana recalls. "At the shop, we joke around all day to make the hours go by, so I’m glad my co-workers believed me."
As a father of four with another baby on the way, Santana says he’s always vigilant, especially in public. "I have to keep my eyes on my kids."
Santana and Lugo bolted out the door, chasing the girl as she headed toward a busy intersection. Lugo's Instagram video shows him catching up with her at the crosswalk.
Lugo, a father of three, told TODAY.com that as he ran, he kept thinking, "You better get her on time."
"As the shop and building owner, I have a responsibility to this corner of the street," he says. "When I grabbed her, she was yelling for her mom. I looked around and saw her mother at a bus stop around the corner."
Lugo walked the little girl back to her mother, who appeared confused and shocked but grateful. With their clients waiting, the men then returned to the barbershop.
East Hartford Mayor Connor Martin awarded Santana and Lugo with hero certificates, and the local police department publicly praised their actions.
"Heroic Barbers to the Rescue! Today, we want to give a massive shoutout to the quick-thinking and brave duo, Osvaldo Lugo and Rafael Santana of LookSharp Barbershop," read a police department Facebook post. "Their swift action saved a little toddler who had escaped from his mother and started moving towards traffic on Main Street. Thanks to them, a potential tragedy was averted, and a family remains whole. We’re incredibly grateful for these everyday heroes among us!"
Santana humbly says he and Lugo are just dads with lucky timing.