A Milwaukee bus driver went into “dad mode” when he saw a barefoot toddler run into oncoming traffic on one of the city’s most dangerous roads.
Keyon Finkley, a Milwaukee County bus operator, was taking his usual Red Line route one Saturday afternoon in late February when he spotted something unusual.
As he approached the intersection of Capitol Drive and North 83rd Street, a little boy wearing only a pajama shirt and a diaper ran into traffic before becoming frightened and running back toward sidewalk.
“It wasn’t a second thought to do anything other than go into daddy mode and protect this boy like he was my son, and make sure he was okay. Everything else, I don’t care,” Finkley said. CBS58.
A father of four and toddler-age twins himself, Finkley was worried. That day, the temperature had reached 30 degrees and the child was unaccompanied on one of Milwaukee’s most precarious roads.
Keyon Finkley, a Milwaukee County bus operator, sprang into action when he spotted an unaccompanied toddler running into oncoming traffic on one of the city’s most dangerous roads .
As he approached the intersection of Capitol Drive and North 83rd Street, Finkley saw the little boy barefoot, wearing nothing but a pajama top and a diaper.
An analysis found that a five-mile stretch of Capitol Drive was the deadliest in the state, with 23 people dying in 19 crashes over the past two decades.
“Seeing this boy on that street, on Capitol Drive, knowing how busy and dangerous it is, sent chills down my spine and scared me,” Finkley said.
A analysis found that a five-mile stretch of Capitol Drive, between Hopkins Street and Mayfair Road, was the deadliest in the state, with 23 people killed in 19 crashes over the past two decades.
Finkley, who lives on Capitol Drive himself, knew how dangerous the road could be. He honked his horn to alert other drivers before entering the cycle path.
He opened the doors and got out, grabbing the little boy as he tried to leave and carrying him onto the bus.
Finkley then called the dispatcher to contact the Milwaukee Police Department. As they waited for police to arrive, he placed the child on a blanket in the driver’s seat.
“I was thinking more of worry. OK, I have to keep the boy safe – and at the same time keep the bus and the people on my bus safe,” Finkley said. FOX 6.
Eventually, a Milwaukee police officer arrived, wrapped the child in the blanket and took him off the bus.
Finkley got back in and continued driving, seemingly unfazed in surveillance footage. In fact, he was shaken.
“Because this story could have ended very badly, and I’m just happy that it was a happy ending,” Finkley said.
“I was able to save the life of a little child and that will always stay with me.”
Finkley stopped and carried the child in before police were called.
The father of four has twins the little boy’s age and said he thought of his own children at the time.
Talk to WWNY-TVthe bus driver said he was thinking of his own children at the time of the rescue.
“It could be my son, he came out of the house and I would like someone to be there for my son,” he said.
“So I had to be there for this boy and treat him like he was my son in that moment, protect him as best I could until the police came.”
The little boy was reunited with his family. It is unclear why he was not accompanied at first.
The toddler was the 14th missing child a county bus driver has found in recent years, according to the Milwaukee County Transit System.
“A lot of people say you’re a hero that day,” Finkley said. WISN.
“I didn’t seem like a hero that day. I sought to protect a little boy that day and I’m glad I was able to do so.