SAN BERNARDINO >> Good Samaritans rescued a young boy they say was trying to cross the eastbound lanes of the 210 Freeway near State Street Saturday morning.
“I saw him and I though, ‘Oh no, baby, please don’t. Stop, baby,’” said Juan Jose Panameno Castro of Pomona who was driving on the freeway with his son, Andy Gabriel Panameno, 15, when they noticed the curly-haired boy in a Mickey Mouse tank top.
The father and son immediately pulled over and said they were astonished no one else on the freeway stopped to help.
Panameno Castro got to the young boy and scooped him up.
“When I had him in my arms I felt relief,” the father said.
Soon after, a second man, a retired Los Angeles police officer also traveling east on the 210 Freeway, pulled over to assist the Panamenos.
“He saw the little boy too and stopped,” Andy said. The trio immediately called 911.
What they didn’t know is that as they were waiting for California Highway Patrol officers to arrive, a frantic search was taking place nearby for the child.
Around 8:30 a.m. San Bernardino police received a call from a mother saying her 3-year-old son, known as Johnny, was missing from the family home in the 2100 block of W. Roosevelt Avenue, according to authorities.
She told dispatchers she’s looked through her home and little Johnny was gone. The unidentified mother and father also enlisted the help of neighbors to find their son.
About 45 minutes after her call to police, Johnny was safely found by the Panamenos and the retired officer less than a mile from the boy’s home.
The couple enthusiastically thanked the Samaritans for finding their son when they met up just off the freeway near State Street.
The mother brought her hand to her mouth when she learned from Panameno Castro her young son was walking into lanes of traffic.
“I can’t thank you enough,” she said and embraced the father and son before also shaking hands and hugging the retired officer.
The child was taken to an area hospital as a precaution and appeared to be in good spirits.
Neighbors who had been searching for Johnny also arrived on scene to make sure everyone was fine.
“Thank goodness he was found,” said one woman to the mother. “It was an accident and it could’ve happened to anyone. I’m just glad he’s safe.”
San Bernardino officers at the scene said they would investigate the incident.