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7 Oct, 2015 19:13

Deputy comforts baby at scene of car crash, photo goes viral

Deputy comforts baby at scene of car crash, photo goes viral

A picture of an Alabama sheriff’s deputy comforting a crying baby in front of a car wreck has captured the heart of the internet.

An ambulance, a tractor trail and three cars were involved in a collision on a highway near Leeds, Alabama on Tuesday morning, leading to four injuries and at least five miles of traffic delays.

After aiding the injured at the scene of the crash, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Deputy Ric Lindley saw a visibly shaken young mother leaning against a car, cradling her unharmed but crying infant. Lindley approached the woman to see if she was alright.

READ MORE: Viral video shows Illinois officer helping mentally disabled woman

"I asked if she was OK," Lindley said to Al.com "She was pretty well shaken up, so I asked her if I could hold the baby."

Lindley, who has seven grandchildren, rocked the baby to sleep, and held the baby for about half an hour. The infant calmed down, and so did her mother. That’s when Lindley’s partner, Officer Tim Sanford, took the now-viral picture.

"We can be hard sometimes, that's just the nature of the beast. But at other times, we're not machines, or computers, we have feelings. We are human beings,” Lindley said, according to Tribune Media. “And, we try to treat people out here just like we would want someone to treat our children, or our spouses, or our parents,”

The photo was posted to social Jefferson County Sheriff's Office’s Facebook page that day, and has since gathered over 8,000 shares and hundreds of comments from people all over the country.

"You're in good hands baby girl," a comment from the sheriff’s office in Palm Beach County, Florida.

“A dad in a uniform ..is still a dad,” said Facebook user Darin Band-Aid Gunter

“Our men in uniform... The heart shines right thru that badge...God Bless him,” commented Al Wortham, another user.


Chief Deputy Randy Christian said that the attention is well-deserved, because this kind of work doesn’t come via training.

“It comes from the heart and the kind of person you are,'' Christian said. "Great heart and character are the kinds of things we look for when recruiting. We certainly got it right on this one."

The 60-year-old former Army Green Beret didn’t mind the attention, but he was surprised by it.

"I did nothing heroic,'' Lindley said. “All I did was hold a baby."

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