Video shows driver swerving into traffic to save wandering toddler

Dashcam footage has captured a heroic moment when a driver swerved into oncoming traffic to rescue a child’s life.

Laurie Owens was driving along Adelaide’s Salisbury Highway when he spotted a young boy, still in his diaper, wandering onto the road as cars zoomed by. Without hesitation, he took swift action, maneuvering onto the median strip and positioning his car in the path of oncoming traffic to protect the child.

“I’d rather take the damage of a car running into me because I’m safe rather than the child be killed because what protection do they have?” he shared with 9 News.

Startled by the approaching car, the young boy, named Aaryan, darted toward a nearby house. Owens swiftly picked him up and began searching for his parents.

“We didn’t know whether the kid lived there or not, so we went in to see the people inside, and sure enough, it was their child, and the gates were left wide open, and the kid was out on the road,” Owens explained.

Aaryan’s mother expressed her gratitude, acknowledging the quick thinking and bravery of the man who had saved her child. She had no idea how her son, who has autism, had managed to wander out of their home and onto the road.

“Thank you, I’m really grateful that [he] saved my child,” she said.

For Laurie Owens, the satisfaction of knowing that the young boy had made it home safely brought him immense relief and a profound sense of having made a significant difference. “I’ve saved a kid’s life. He’s got a future now,” he remarked.