APS worker was annoyed at a day full of delays — until he saw a toddler running towards traffic and realized he was ‘right on time’
'I’m just grateful I was in the right place at the right time'
An Arizona mom owes part of her heartbeat to Robert Butler after his quick-thinking action saved her toddler in what people are calling a “heart-stopping moment.” It was March 19. At about 3:10 pm, Butler, an Arizona Public Service (APS) troubleshooter, Robert Butler, was driving down Lincoln Road, a path he usually wouldn’t take. Was it a divine intervention? Nobody can say. But he happened to be in the right place at the right time. From the window of his truck, he noticed this toddler breaking out from the wagon and darting towards a busy Phoenix intersection. He jumped out of the truck to save the kid just in the nick of time. Surveillance footage published by APS captured the whole scene, according to an April 16 report by Fox 10 Phoenix.
For Butler, it was a day peppered with “a series of unexpected moments,” as Fox 10 Phoenix reporter Ashlie Rodriguez described it. His training was too long, and he had extra paperwork, all of which caused him to have to leave work late, and happen to be on this road, destined to save a life and a mother’s heart. “I normally don’t drive down this street. I’m just grateful I was in the right place at the right time,” Butler said in an APS press release. “I have a two-year-old son, and I know how fast kids can move once they get going and they’re on their mission. As a parent, I can definitely relate.”
The incident happened near the downtown Phoenix service center. APS supervisor Kort Meyer was heading to his vehicle when he noticed this toddler running towards the intersection. He tried to intervene, but a badge-only gate blocked him from reaching the rapidly moving kiddo. That’s when Butler emerged, not much different from the Spider Man who saves children from burning buildings and noisy traffic. In APS, Butler is a reputed troubleman, skilled in responding to electrical emergencies, equipment issues, and power outages. But this time, he demonstrated a skill that would make even God proud. Thanks to a surveillance camera, his deed was captured for others to borrow inspiration.
The one-minute footage opens with an aerial view of the four-way intersection bustling with cars and vehicles. Somewhere from under a tree, this young boy breaks loose from his buggy and starts running on the sidewalk towards the intersection. A blue circle in the footage marks and tracks the boy’s position as he runs. Behind him, on the road, a white truck is racing towards the same intersection. By the time the boy reaches a utility pole looming right at the edge of the crossroads, the truck halts. Butler jumps out and scurries towards the boy, estimated to be about three years old.
While speaking to the outlet, he shared that the first prompt that propelled him to stop the truck was the screaming of this mom, as well as a wagon and an umbrella on the sidewalk. If another moment had passed, the boy would have put his foot on the busy road, getting clobbered by the heavy traffic. But not a moment too soon, Butler leaped through the sidewalk, grabbed him, and reunited him with his mother.
Ancient sages have fondly repeated that one must give to the world what one seeks from it. By saving this toddler’s life, he gave himself the blessing of feeling relieved each time he sees his 2-year-old son, trusting that just as he saved someone’s child, someone will always be there to save his child, too. Maybe this feeling is what they call “law of reciprocity.”
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