BUCYRUS — A Bucyrus teen is being hailed as a hero after a Bucyrus man witnessed a heroic act by the teen.
As Garth Hoover drove to a recycling trailer at West Mansfield and Spring Streets Saturday, he noticed four small children on the porch of a house across the street.
“All under four at the most and I wondered where an adult was. After I parked, I looked and saw an adult on the side of the house, so I went on and started recycling,” Hoover said. “When I was almost finished, I heard someone yell. I looked to see a young man running in the direction of West Mansfield Street.”
Then Hoover saw her, a little female toddler that had clearly started to walk recently, on the street beside a parked car, ready to step out into traffic.
“A young man ran across the street and scooped her up. Immediately after he scooped her up, some young punk in a black truck took off from the four-way stop like a bat out of hell and another car with a young girl driving was right on his bumper,” Hoover said. “They would have never had time to stop even if they would have seen her step out in traffic.”
The young man that saved the little girl from a possible tragedy is 19-year-old Clinton Carr.
“I was going to my dad’s house and I happened to see the little girl getting ready to step out into the street. I just reacted,” Carr said. “I didn’t even notice the vehicles that went by.”
Carr said he stood there with the little girl in his arms for a short time when a man came from the back area of the house.
“He didn’t make eye contact with me and didn’t say anything,” Carr said. “He just grabbed her from my arms and went to the back again.”
Carr and Hoover both said they do not know if the man was in garage or the backyard when the incident occurred.
Carr said he then saw a woman come from the back of the house to the porch.
“A little while later, all of the kids were in the house,” Carr said.
Hoover said he had just witnessed a heroic act by Carr, who he recognized as his friends, Nicole and Sam’s son and the grandson of Mike Miller.
“A 19-year-old man named Clinton Carr saved a little girl’s life today and I think he needs to be recognized as a hero. He reminded me of Superman, the way he came to her rescue,” Hoover said.
Carr said he does not want recognition and did what most people would do.
“I didn’t think about it, I just grabbed her and got her away from the street,” he said.
Carr said his mom encouraged him to tell his story to remind others to watch out for others, especially children.
Hoover said he contacted the Bucyrus Police Department because he wants Carr to be recognized as a hero.
“On one hand,” he said, “I saw a what could have been tragedy, and on the other hand, I saw hope. My hat is off to Clinton.”