A Chicago man who was stuck in traffic heard a baby crying and discovered a 7-month-old girl abandoned in a car seat after a carjacking.
How many times have we heard a baby crying while walking or driving down the street? But would we stop and act? Earl Abernathy did and that made all the difference.
Earl Abernathy was sitting in traffic in Chicago’s Little Italy neighborhood on Thursday, July 3. The weather was hot, and he had his windows down while listening to music.
He was talking with his passenger about the heat when something caught his attention.
“I was sitting there, windows down, listening to music,” said Abernathy. “I said, ‘Do you hear a baby crying?’ She was like, ‘Yeah. I don’t see a baby, though.'”
Abernathy turned his head and saw something that made his heart race. A car seat sat in front of the steps of St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church. Inside was a tiny baby trying to get out.
“I saw the baby like, trying to wiggle his way out of the car seat and it tipped over,” Abernathy said. “So, I just threw the hazards on, jumped out, ran over there [and] got the baby!”
The moment must have felt surreal. Here was a helpless infant, alone on church steps, with no parent in sight.
Abernathy did not hesitate. He called police right away and then did something that changed everything. He went live on Facebook.
The response was immediate and amazing. People who saw his video recognized the baby.
“Like, within minutes, the grandma had inboxed me like, ‘That’s my grandbaby!’ And then the auntie inboxed like, ‘That’s my niece!'” Abernathy said.
The 7-month-old girl had been inside a vehicle that was carjacked that morning in Chicago’s North Lawndale neighborhood. Someone had stolen the car with the baby inside and then left her behind.
Medical staff took the baby to the hospital to make sure she was okay. Then came the moment everyone was waiting for. The little girl was reunited with her family.
Chicago Police arrested 38-year-old Jeremy Ochoa for the carjacking. He faces serious charges including aggravated kidnapping and vehicular hijacking.
Abernathy’s family feels proud of what he did. His uncle, Darnell Payne wanted to help his nephew in return. He started a GoFundMe page to raise money for a new vehicle.
The minivan Abernathy was driving when he saved the baby had broken down just days later.
Earl could have easily ignored that crying sound. He could have turned up his music and kept driving. But God touched his heart to respond and it saved a child’s life.
Sometimes God whispers to us through small moments like this. When we choose to listen and act, we might just be the answer to someone’s prayer.
WATCH: Chicago Man Saves Abandoned Baby After Carjacking
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