An Oregon teenager who saved a 9-month-old baby after his parents and uncle were electrocuted by a downed power line is being called a hero. Majiah Washington, 18, of Portland, says she saw a flash outside the window of her home on Wednesday, January 17, 2024.
When she looked outside, to her dismay, she realized there was a car with a downed power line on top of it. The parents had been going to put their child in the car. "The baby's mom was yelling to the man, 'Take my baby out of the car. Take my baby out of the car,'" the teen recalled.
A large tree branch that had been weighed down by ice and snow from a winter storm fell down, knocking the power line on the top of the car. The teen watched from her window as the father of the child tried to walk up an icy hill with the baby in his arms. He ended up slipping and falling backwards.
At that time, the bottom of the man's foot touched the downed power line. The teen says she then saw a small fire and smoke. The baby's mother came running over to help. Unfortunately, she also slipped and touched the power line.
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Majiah, who ran outside and called 911 when the father fell backwards, also witnessed the woman's 15-year-old brother run over to try to help. He also slipped and touched the power line. The three of them unfortunately died as a result of being electrocuted.
"I didn't know what to think. It just all happened so fast," the teen said at a press conference at the headquarters of Portland Fire & Rescue. "I was concerned about the baby. No one was moving."
Almost immediately, she saw the baby's head move and says she "knew he was still here." Being as careful as she could, she walked over to grab the baby. "I slid down there, kind of crouched," she said, adding that she briefly made contact with the child's dad. Luckily, she was not shocked. "I kind of touched him with my hands and then I just kind of grabbed the baby out of his hands and made my way back up the hill."
Though she was warned by the 911 operator of the dangers of electrocution at time time, Majiah says she couldn't sit back and do nothing. "The only thing I could think about was that he was still here," she said. "He had moved his head and I didn't want him to possibly fall somehow … and touch the wire."
"We do have fortunately with us a [child] that is going to be able to thrive and do what they possibly can as they move forward," Portland Fire and Rescue spokesman Rick Graves said. "And they are here, in part, because of the heroic acts of a member of our community."
Oregon had been affected by a dangerous winter storm that week. According to the Associated Press, it caused at least 10 deaths, leading the governor to issue a statewide emergency declaration.
