Former migrant from Tajikistan rescues baby on Moscow highway

A former migrant from Tajikistan saved an 11-month-old baby girl who was crawling onto a highway in the Moscow region. 

The man named only as Bakhtiyor said that he noticed something moving on a dark road as he was driving. He initially thought that it was a small animal, like a cat or a rabbit. However, as he got closer, he realized it was a baby girl.

"I slammed on the brakes, ran out of the car, picked her up, wrapped her in a blanket, put her in the car, turned on the heater, and immediately called 112 (Russia's emergency services number)," he recounted. "The ambulance arrived in 15-20 minutes."

Police officers, investigators, and child welfare officials soon arrived at the scene.

Later, the child's mother called Bakhtiyor to thank him for saving her daughter. He revealed that he hah a child of his own, just a month younger than the girl he rescued.

According to REN TV channel, while the driver was waiting for help, an elderly woman approached the car, introduced herself as the child's grandmother and demanded that the girl be given to her. The driver refused. It was later revealed that the woman was indeed related to the child, but had recently undergone treatment for a mental illness. She had taken the baby girl from the house at night without her parents' knowledge and left.

The child suffered first-degree hypothermia. The girl is now safe at home with her parents.