VIDEO: Dramatic video shows two Asbury Park police officers and a neighbor save an 8-year-old boyโs life as they coaxed him to jump out of an upstairs window into their waiting arms as the house around him erupted in flames.
Asbury Park Police Officer DeWitt Bacon, Officer John Walsh and neighbor Joseph Dunbar all stood under the boyโs upstairs window and caught him as he jumped out to safety.
โIโm just hoping he trusts me enough to catch him because in his mind there are two bad situations for him โ stays in smoke, comes out, falls, he could hurt himself,โ said Bacon.
โCatching an 8-year-old wasnโt on the agenda for the day. I just kind of picked him up. I said, โLetโs go, kid.โ Threw him over my shoulder and we just ran,โ said Walsh.
The fire happened Monday morning on Prospect Avenue in a two-family home. Two people downstairs self-evacuated. The boy was home alone while his mom was working and had no other options to escape, except out the window.
