Close calls that almost ended in tragedy — and the small actions that saved the day
From a sibling who noticed something wasn’t right… To a last glance in the rearview mirror… To a habit that felt silly at first but ended up saving a life…
Real-life stories of near-misses are not just heart-stopping — they’re heart-opening.
They remind us that distraction, fatigue, and miscommunication happen to everyone. In New York, Florida, Maryland, Texas, California and beyond. But layered safety — one extra habit, one thoughtful system, one alert child — can catch the mistake before it turns tragic.
Read these stories, share them, and let them reinforce the most important fact of all: We’re all human. But with the right tools and awareness, we can protect what matters most.
Forgotten at the Sheitel Macher
A Florida sheitel macher was busy with a client who suddenly jumped up and ran to her car when she remembered her baby. Thankfully, the baby was fine.
Always check the back seat when you leave a vehicle, even if you don’t expect a child to be there.
Postpartum Appointment
During a doctor’s appointment, a mother was asked about her newborn and realized the baby was still in the car. She ran to find him thankfully unharmed in the covered parking lot.
Sleep deprivation and routine changes increase forgetfulness. Set reminders.
Florida Camp Trip
A mother brought her toddler to camp for a trip he would enjoy, instead of leaving him at home with the housekeeper as usual. While greeting campers, she heard her car alarm go off twice and initially thought it was accidental. She then realized her son was inside the car trying to get out, narrowly avoiding leaving him trapped all day.
Open Fence in the Five Towns
3-year-old Elisha entered the pool without floaties. The fence was open. His older brother found him and pulled him out after 40 seconds underwater. B”H he was ok.
Always remember to secure gates, and teach children never to enter without supervision.
Coral Mylo Saved the Day
A drowning was prevented with the Coral Mylo device.
Hot Car Close Calls
Family Meal Scare
15 minutes into a restaurant meal, parents realized their 3-year-old was still in the car. Thankfully, the weather was cool and the child was still sleeping peacefully.
Always check the car before walking away, and have siblings look out for each other.
Doctor’s Office Dropoff
After parking, a father joined his wife inside the doctor’s office. She asked where the baby was — he ran back to the car and found the baby unharmed.
During any dropoff, be sure to communicate clearly to avoid dangerous assumptions.
Australia Rescue
A family was on an outing when the mother realized the baby was left in the car. She returned to the car to find a stranger had heard the baby’s cries and taken her out.
If you see a child in a car, don’t hesitate to help.
Mechanic Mishap
A father took the children to school, then dropped the car off at the mechanic. Once he got home with a car service, he remembered that the baby was left in the car. He rushed back to the mechanic and found the baby B”H okay.
Changes in routine are particularly dangerous. Develop the habit to check the back seat, no matter what.
Pulled Out Over Pesach
In Orlando, Florida a child was saved from drowning during Pesach vacation.
Even in holiday chaos, keep your eyes on the water.
Still in a Coma
A child in Florida remains in a coma after being pulled from the pool.
New York Chavrusa
A father forgot that his child was in the car during chavrusa learning. He suddenly remembered after a significant time and ran to get his child. Thankfully it was the winter and the child was okay.
Florida After School
All the kids were home after school when suddenly the mother realized one child was missing. The child was red and sweating, with marks on her body from squeezing herself out of the seatbelt. She was 5 years old and knew about Sholom Tauber’s hot car story, so she knew her life was in danger.
Takeaway: Teach children how to free themselves in an emergency.
Florida Camp Van
A mother reported that two years ago, her 4-year-old son was left in the camp van. After an hour, the driver found him in the back seat.
Make sure the schools and camps your children attend have protocols in place to make sure this doesn’t happen.
Childhood Trauma
A woman recalls the trauma of being left in a car as a child. She got out on her own and was found by police. Her parents came to pick her up from the precinct.
Survivors of close calls can carry the memory for life. Let’s do our part to prevent this.
Discovered Through a Fortunate Minivan Mixup
A young baby was accidentally left inside a parked vehicle in Lakewood. A child attempting to get into the wrong car noticed the baby and alerted an adult. Thanks to that intervention, the infant was discovered and removed from the car — unharmed.
What saved the day: A sharp eye and a fortunate wrong-vehicle mix-up led to a life-saving discovery. The baby was safe and alert thanks to that moment.
Spring in Baltimore
In Silver Springs, Maryland, a child was forgotten in a car. It was early May 2025, and the child turned out okay.
Texas Close Call
We received a report of a close call involving a 13-year-old left in a hot car.
Munchies LA Lockout
A child was accidently locked inside a vehicle in front of Munchies in LA. Chaveirim arrived and managed to rescue the child.
NY Yeshiva Principal
A yeshiva principal in New York shared his story of a close call.
It truly can happen to anyone.
“We Found Him. IN YOUR VAN.”
Forward from WhatsApp:
I write this message as a Thank you to Hashem, and desperately plea to others not to do what I did.
Working hard in Camp Yeshiva of Staten Island trying to get things ready for the families coming up tomorrow, I basically ignored my wife when she told me that my almost 2 year old, Yoel, was missing. I go through this every day of camp with one of my children, finding out they went into a friend's bungalow, the dining room, to see the bunny rabbits or other harmless places.
I passed my bungalow again twenty minutes later to find my wife still looking for him. Assuming this was a day like every other, I said I'll go find him, hopped on a golf cart, and started going around the campus to the places I thought he might be. Couldn't find him. Came back and checked our bungalow again, next door, the basement - nothing.
Not even a little nervous yet, I started driving around the campus calling his name. Called a few people I thought might have him on the way, but no one knew where he was. It was when I started noticing that everywhere I was looking, I saw other people looking for him also that I started to get a little worried. I got on the radio and called the staff to do a building-to-building search. [The staff in Camp Yeshiva of Staten Island are a team like no other. Having run the logistics for major events numerous times, finding lost children was something we trained for and have done many times.]
Assuming the staff would be searching the campus, I went to the office to start pulling video footage to see if I could find him. As I heard the different zones calling in that they had completed their buildings and didn't find him, I started getting very nervous. The Beis Medrash was checked, the creek was checked, baseball fields - no sign of Yoel.
About to have cleared the entire campus and start expanding our search, my phone rang. We found him. IN YOUR VAN. And he's breathing.
I got there as fast as I could and found him drenched in sweat, trying to pour a water bottle down his throat.
Boruch Hashem he is OK.
I had pulled my van onto the campus to unload some packages, and left the doors open. Watching the cameras after, I saw him climb into the van while I made one of my trips into the bungalow. When I finished unloading, I closed the van and drove back to the parking lot across the street without ever realizing Yoel was inside. I LOCKED HIM IN A VAN ON A HOT SUNNY DAY FOR 45 MINUTES. Proud to be a Hatzolo and Chaveirim member, I've seen dozens of posters from my friends over the last few weeks "Look before you lock", but didn't take it to heart enough.
Thank you Hashem.
Please be careful.
“She Cried Herself Out…”
From a mother in Williamsburg:
It was a week before Purim 2024. My daughter was 2 years and 9 months old. I’m the type of mother who doesn’t send my kids to school until they’re at least two and a half. I look out for their needs before they cry. I stay close.
That day, she came home from school in different pants. When I asked what happened, she said, “I was crying on the bus.” I asked why. “Because I wanted to go to mommy.” It should have raised warning bells, but I hadn’t heard anything from the school.
Two months later, I found out the truth—by accident.
I had stopped by school and noticed the children were wearing necklaces with name tags. I asked one of the teachers if that was safe. “Isn’t that a choking hazard?”
Her response stopped me cold.
“We started doing this after what happened with your daughter.”
I stared at her. “What happened with my daughter?”
No one had told me anything. I went to the school director right away to ask what had happened. But instead of answering, he launched into a speech about seven safety measures the school has in place. When I tried to ask again what had happened to my child, he yelled at me in front of the entire office and wouldn’t answer. Then he went into the classroom, screamed at the teacher for telling me, and threatened to fire her.
Only later did I piece together the story:
That morning, like every day, I put my daughter on the school bus. At 1:15 p.m., the driver took the bus out to a store. It was supposed to be empty, but he found a child still on the bus—my daughter. She had cried at first, but by then, she was quiet. She had cried herself out.
It was a small bus, normally filled to the brim with three children per seat. There was only the driver and a Hispanic staff member on board. No one noticed that one small child had been left behind.
The driver brought her to the school director, who is a medic. He gave her water and bread and took care of her. Thank G-d, she was okay. But no one told me a word. I cannot even think of this part without cringing. What I wouldn’t have given to be there for her after such a traumatic experience! To hold her close and warm and give her comfort and safety. She was just a baby.
A quick phone call could have saved us this added trauma.
Later, I went through my home footage from that day. She was dancing. Full of joy. Resilient. But when she was stuck inside a bus for hours, she didn’t know what to do. She didn’t knock or try to get out. She just cried, and then went silent.
Trust—but Verify
We hand our children to others every day: the bus driver, the babysitter, the morah. And we trust they’ll be cared for. But are we asking the questions we need to?
A quick phone call could have saved my daughter. Or a roll call. Or someone simply paying closer attention. These are simple, effective practices that can save lives—and help parents feel supported instead of shut out.
It could have been a tragedy. Hashem saved my daughter. But I will never assume again.
Because sometimes the warning signs are small: a pair of pants. A child who came home crying. A mother’s gut feeling.
Ask questions. Show up. Make sure your child is safe—not just in your care, but in anyone’s.
Because safety isn’t just one person’s job. It’s all of ours.
Pool Close Calls
“It Happened While All the Adults Were There…”
From a father and mother in Baltimore:
“It’s the worst possible thing you could imagine. Not knowing if your kid is going to survive or not,” the father shares.
“My daughter had pulled out my other daughter from the pool. She was not breathing.”
“She was just…” the mother struggles to get the words out. “She was limp. And I remember her wet hair just hanging in her face. Nobody should ever see anybody like that. Her face went from regular coloring to blue, and then a really deep purple.”
Within an instant, the father took the child and ran to the front of the house, yelling for someone to call 911. By a miracle, somebody turned the corner, the only person there, and he jumped out and said, “I’m a paramedic!”
“Getting rid of those distractions and actually realizing that you’re watching kids in a pool…” the father reminds us. “If you’re not watching them properly, things could happen very quickly without you even noticing. The most critical thing is that these technologies should be a support for what the person’s responsible for, not take the place of the person watching.”
“I’m Like a Hawk at the Pool, and It Still Happened…”
Forward from WhatsApp:
Hi everyone, gut voch.
This is a little uncomfortable for me to share publicly, but if it can save even one child, then it’ll be worth it.
Erev yom tov we had a huge miracle with our young daughter at the pool. She was sitting on the edge, with her feet in the water. She was not planning on going in at all; she was scared to.
I took a picture of my son and started sending it on a family chat, when my 4 year old niece yelled that my daughter is “swimming by herself.” My sister and I got alerted, and saw my daughter in the water, with her head barely above.
Baruch Hashem Baruch Hashem we got her out quickly and she is 100% ok. We are beyond grateful to Hashem!
I’m sharing this in the hopes that it can remind everyone to be SUPER on top of their children/campers at the pool! Do not take your eyes off of them for a second, whether they are in the pool/swimming or not! Make sure the children are in floaties when in the pool gate! Do not go on your phone when supervising kids in the pool, even if just for a second! Phones take our focus away, whether we like to admit it or not.
I happen to be that person who is like a hawk at the pool, watching each kid, counting etc.. but unfortunately, all it takes is a couple of seconds.. this was a very important reminder for me, and I hope it can be for others as well.
B’ezras Hashem it should be a safe, healthy and happy summer for all!
