Colorado Springs, Colo. police say Bryant Jerel Hickcox, 30, cradled his 2-year-old cousin in his arms as he walked up to the a busy when he threw the child into the street.
Tracy Willner happened to be passing by on her way home at the time and saw a man, believed to be Hickox, throw the child. At first, she thought he had thrown a bag or a dog, reported KKTV.
The car in front of her swerved out of the way and then she saw the child stand up in the middle of the street.
“I don’t think the realization has hit. … He threw a baby into traffic,” Willner said. “He threw him hard into traffic and the baby rolled. Thank God the lady in front of us swerved and was paying attention.”
Willner said she immediately ran out of her car to get the child.
“I grabbed the baby and just held him. He was soaking wet and crying,” she said, adding: “I just held him right here and for a little while he stopped crying. I just wanted to keep him as warm and as safe as possible.”
As Willner attended to the child, two other men ran onto the scene and held Hickox down until police arrived.
According to an arrest report, Hickox called the baby “the devil” before throwing him into traffic. He later denied he said that.
The child did not suffer serious injury during the incident.
Hickox was detained in El Paso County jail under a $50,000 bond.
