'God put me in the right spot': GPD lieutenant snares child from Rainbow Drive traffic
A potential tragedy was averted on Friday, thanks to the efforts of two people who insist divine intervention placed them in the right spots at the right time.
Lt. Josh Russell of the Gadsden Police Department was traveling south on Rainbow Drive, in the 2100 block, when he saw a young child (he estimated the age at 2 or 3) in a toy car in the roadway, heading in the opposite direction.
“It was 1 p.m., and traffic was insane,” Russell recalled.
Jeff Martin of Gadsden had just turned north onto Rainbow Drive from Hollywood Road when he encountered the same jarring scene.
Fortunately, Martin hadn’t had time to get his Ford F-150 truck up to speed, so he stationed himself behind the toy car, trying to protect the child from traffic. “But (the child) was so small that people couldn’t see around them,” Russell said. “They just kept going around them.”
The lieutenant noted that the child was so small that his in-car camera didn’t pick up the scene.
Fortunately, though, he quickly stopped his police vehicle, got out and carried the child — who he said seemed to be trying to go faster after seeing the police cruiser and its lights — to safety.
“God put me in the right spot,” Russell said. “My body just reacted.”
No charges were filed in the incident; Russell said it was simply a case of a child getting away from a parent who was working at a nearby business and was “very upset” at what transpired.
Martin said he saw the child as soon as he turned onto Rainbow Drive, and was getting ready to jump out himself until Russell came on the scene, calling him “the true hero.”
“If I’d gone down to Country Club (Drive) to turn onto Rainbow Drive instead of Hollywood,” he said, “I’d have been doing 50 mph by that point and probably would have hit (the child). It was an act of God all the way.”
A photo of Russell rescuing the child taken by Conner Paulson of Southside was posted to Facebook soon after the incident and was shared repeatedly and drew much conversation as well as comments from city officials.
“A precious life was saved today thanks to Lt. Russell,” Gadsden Mayor Craig Ford said on Friday. “We commend him for his swift action, and thank all Gadsden police officers for their heroic actions every day.”
Capt. Wayne Keener of the Gadsden Police Department’s professional standards division described Russell as “one of the many officers we have who does not enjoy the limelight but does his job well every day and does it for the right reasons. I am grateful and blessed to be able to work with officers like this one daily.”
Russell stressed Martin’s involvement, calling what happened an example of a “combined effort with the community."
He added, “I’ve had to work scenes where children have died. This was a tragedy averted and I’m glad all of us were in the right spot.”
This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: Gadsden officer says God put him in right place to save child
