MISSION VIEJO -- It was the catch of a lifetime and it likely saved the life of a 4 year old boy who fell nearly 30 feet after becoming entangled in an escalator.
It happened at the Mission Viejo Mall on Friday when 21 year old Antonio Jones and his girlfriend were standing outside the Islands Restaurant. Jones looked up and saw something he could hardly believe.
Jones says he was standing on the ground floor when he noticed a child crying on the escalator above.
The escalator hand-rail had pulled 4 year old Jimmy Lavin up to the second floor. In an instant, the child was dangling off the staircase. As Jones watched in horror, the child was knocked off the top of the escalator rail and thrown into the air.
The boy plummeted 30 feet, head-first, toward the concrete walkway below.
Jones reacted, jumping forward and catching the child with one hand on each leg.
It was a near perfect catch! Lavin's head just barely touched the ground.
The child was taken to a nearby hospital where he was treated for a minor bump to his head and was released.
Officials say Jones likely saved the boy's life. He says he was just in the right place at the right time.
It happened at the Mission Viejo Mall on Friday when 21 year old Antonio Jones and his girlfriend were standing outside the Islands Restaurant. Jones looked up and saw something he could hardly believe.
Jones says he was standing on the ground floor when he noticed a child crying on the escalator above.
The escalator hand-rail had pulled 4 year old Jimmy Lavin up to the second floor. In an instant, the child was dangling off the staircase. As Jones watched in horror, the child was knocked off the top of the escalator rail and thrown into the air.
The boy plummeted 30 feet, head-first, toward the concrete walkway below.
Jones reacted, jumping forward and catching the child with one hand on each leg.
It was a near perfect catch! Lavin's head just barely touched the ground.
The child was taken to a nearby hospital where he was treated for a minor bump to his head and was released.
Officials say Jones likely saved the boy's life. He says he was just in the right place at the right time.
