Two quick-thinking barbers have been hailed as heroes after rescuing a toddler from wandering into busy traffic on a main road.
Originally from Puerto Rico, 47-year-old Osvaldo Lugo is now based in Hartford, Connecticut, and owns LookSharp barber shop.
On April 10, 2024, Mr. Lugo was gearing up for “a typical Wednesday,” as he expected the usual rush of midweek. However, Mr. Lugo had no idea what awaited him that day.
Around 11:30 a.m., as Mr. Lugo was busy working on his third customer of the day, his colleague Rafael Santana looked out the window and saw it—a little girl running toward the middle of the busy street.
Concerned at seeing the child without an adult, Mr. Santana took a second look. He then quickly voiced his concern, questioning why an unaccompanied child was playing in the middle of the street.
This prompted Mr. Lugo to take a look.
“I’ve been in this area for three years, in business, and I have never seen kids play in the middle of the street,” Mr. Lugo told the Epoch Times.
Seeing how fast the girl was running, he put his clippers down and took off after her.
The quick-thinking barber remembered telling himself, “You make sure you run as fast as you can. Because you only got one shot.”
Footage captured by LookSharp security cameras shows Mr. Lugo sprinting outside and Mr. Santana following him.
“Once I opened the door [of the shop], all I remember is running and running,” Mr. Lugo said. “And I felt that I was running the fastest I ever have.”
As he got hold of her “she was alarmed” and looked at him with suspicion.
Mr. Lugo scooped her into his arms, and she began calling for her mother. Mr. Lugo looked around, searching for the child’s parents.
It wasn’t long before he found her mother.
“When she saw me, and we locked eyes, she realized that it was her child in my arms,” he said. “She looked at me embarrassed but scared, but at the same time grateful ... [and] said, ‘Thank you.’”
As a small business owner, Mr. Lugo cares deeply for not only his clients but his community at large.
Many have hailed the barber a hero for his swift action, to which he said: “The word hero is too big, the responsibility behind that word, it was too big. But all I know is that I’m proud of myself for getting involved.”
The barber has served the Hartford community—who have accepted him as their own—for the last three years.
“So it was only fair for me to see them in distress and do the same thing,” he said. “I’m grateful, and I thank God that it wasn’t a tragedy.”
The barber, who served in jail for 10 years and was released six years ago, has worked hard to better himself. While in jail he took business and psychology courses and values the education he received that allowed him to learn about himself and the human mind.
“I have changed my ways and now God blessed me with a business, a house, a property, and a community to serve,” he said.
