{"id":21791,"date":"2025-10-17T11:40:54","date_gmt":"2025-10-17T15:40:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspirationreport\/?p=21791"},"modified":"2025-10-17T11:40:54","modified_gmt":"2025-10-17T15:40:54","slug":"god-put-me-there-hero-bus-driver-rescues-young-child-wandering-alone-on-busy-street","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspirationreport\/2025\/10\/god-put-me-there-hero-bus-driver-rescues-young-child-wandering-alone-on-busy-street.html","title":{"rendered":"\u2018God Put Me There\u2019: Hero Bus Driver Rescues Young Child Wandering Alone on Busy Street"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Hillsborough Transit Authority<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sometimes God places us in the right place at the right time. That\u2019s exactly what happened when Barbara Baker, a bus driver and grandmother in Tampa, Florida, came face-to-face with a frightening situation.<\/p>\n

On the morning of August 31, while driving her Route 12 bus just after 7 a.m., Baker saw something that made her heart stop. A barefoot little boy in pajamas was wandering alone in the middle of a busy street.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh my God,\u201d she gasped in the bus\u2019s onboard video footage. \u201cLook at the baby out there by himself.”<\/p>\n

Without hesitation, Baker stopped her bus, opened the doors, and hurried to the child. \u201cCome here, baby,\u201d she gently called before scooping him up into her arms and carrying him to safety.<\/p>\n

Back inside the bus, the child couldn\u2019t say where his home was. Baker cradled him on her hip, speaking soothingly while calling HART operations for help. \u201cGive me one second, please,\u201d she told her passengers, putting everything aside to care for the child.<\/p>\n

At one point, the boy looked at her and softly said, \u201cMama.\u201d<\/p>\n