A toddler was thrown off a bridge into the bay during a 5-car crash. A stranger jumped 30 feet after her.

It happened May 2, 2021 on the Route 90 bridge in Ocean City, Maryland. A pickup hit the barrier and ended up on the guardrail. In the crash, a 2-year-old girl was ejected into Assawoman Bay, still strapped in her car seat.

Jonathan Bauer, 51, was stuck in that same traffic with his 13-year-old daughter Ava. He told Ava to find the first officer she could, then went over the railing.

He dropped about 25-30 feet, swam to her, lifted her high on his shoulder and patted her back until she coughed up water and took a breath. A pontoon boat with Joe Oertel and his daughter pulled them both aboard.

The little girl was airlifted to Johns Hopkins and released the next day. 7 others were taken to hospitals. Bauer, who didn’t want to be named at first, was later honored as a Hometown Hero by the Thunderbirds and received the Carnegie Medal – North America’s highest honor for civilian heroism.

Not all heroes wear uniforms.

Sources: ABC News, NBC Washington, WJLA, WUSA9