BREAKING: Heroes save baby

Fall River –



Before Saturday night, Bruce Hebert wondered why God kept him on Earth.

By 7:30 p.m., he had his answer.

Police are describing Hebert and Pedro Davila as heroes after they rescued a 21-month-old baby girl from a watery storm drain in the area of Fourth and Morgan streets.  

Hebert said he was cooking on a grill outside his Fourth Street home when a minivan pulled up nearby.

“Then a lady was flipping out and running around,” he related.

After learning that a baby had fallen into a storm drain, Hebert said he got a lug wrench from the back of the van and someone handed him a hammer.

Davila and Hebert used the tools to flip open the storm drain cover.

“(Davila) jumped inside (the drain) and picked up the baby,” Hebert said. “He climbed out and tried to do CPR, but he was doing it wrong.”

Hebert said he politely advised Davila and then resumed CPR, which he learned many years ago as a lifeguard at a Fairhaven beach.

“The second time I blew into her lungs, she started spitting up water and stuff,” he said.

Officer David Lafleur arrived and took the baby. She was rushed to St. Anne’s Hospital, and later transferred to Hasbro Children’s Hospital, Providence.

“Unfortunately, she was in the water for one to two minutes,” Hebert said. “But the last I heard, she was crying and fussing, so that’s a blessing from Jesus.”

Both men are unemployed. Bruce Hebert has many medical problems, and Pedro was unable to obtain treatment for his foot that he injured in the course of the rescue, due to…you got it…lack of health coverage.

Next time you see somebody down on their luck, remember that there is good in just about everyone.