ARLINGTON, Va. -- It took a second or two for Jaimen Ortiz to fully comprehend what he was seeing: two toddlers playing in an open second-floor window, and one of them hanging from the window sill.
So Ortiz hopped a fence and ran to the apartment building. Just as he got there, the 2-year-old girl fell, screaming. Ortiz put out his arms and caught her cleanly, perhaps saving her life and certainly preventing serious injury.
"If I had delayed one more second, she would have fallen to the ground," Ortiz said through a Spanish interpreter, recalling the Oct. 13 incident.
The toddlers' father was charged with reckless endangerment.
Ortiz's quick thinking was honored Tuesday in Arlington, where the County Board presented him a certificate of recognition for his heroism.
Ortiz, 29, seemed slightly overwhelmed by the attention he received Tuesday as he fielded multiple interview requests.
"I have a 5-year-old child, and you never know. Maybe someday he might need help like I was able to give to this girl," he said.
While he was unaccustomed to the recognition, it's not the first time he has been a hero. As a teenager growing up in Guatemala, he helped save the wife of a friend from drowning.
Road Trip 2009
15 years ago
