BAL HARBOUR, FLA. (WHDH) – A South Florida boy is being hailed a hero, weeks after he dashed to his baby brother’s rescue as the infant fell off a changing table.
Surveillance video from last month’s incident captures Tila Levi placing her 11-month-old son on the table at her Bal Harbour home, and then turning her back for a moment while she dealt with the rest of her five children. The infant is then seen rolling over on his stomach as his left foot dangles off the edge of the changing table.
Moments later, the infant is seen moving his left leg into empty air and falls off the edge.
At that exact same moment, the baby’s brother, 9-year-old Joseph Levi, is heard screaming as he runs into the frame, arms outstretched, and catches his nearly 30-pound younger sibling.
“I was just getting everyone ready for bed. I was home alone with the five kids, and at first I said, ‘I messed up. I did something wrong,’” said Tila, “but then I realized that, really, it was a miracle. I must have done something right to have been deserving of this little guy, running in at the right time and catching him at the right moment.”
7News cameras captured Tila kissing Joseph on the cheek as she pushed him on his swing. Both of them are still amazed at the stunning save.
“I just said to him, ‘You just saved your baby brother. You saved his life. You’re a hero,’” said Tila.
Joseph suggested he might have been aided by divine intervention. “I would have never caught him, and I can’t run that fast, so I felt like something came and just pushed me forward,” he said, “and when that happened, I just ran and caught him.”
The boy said he still marvels that he was able to bear his brother’s weight. “I would never be able to do that again because I can’t carry my brother,” he said.
Tila, meanwhile, said the incident serves as a reminder for parents to always be vigilant when supervising their young children. “It can happen to anybody, and now I know who it’s happened to ’cause everybody’s been confessing about when they dropped their baby,” she said. “Obviously, I am more careful, but at the end of the day, it happens in a second, and I think that all of our lives can change in a second.”
Joseph’s mother said she is also inclined to believe her son’s explanation. “It’s almost like someone pushed him and said, ‘Go do what you gotta do,’” she said. “I’m a believing person. I believe in God. I do believe in miracles. I’d just never seen one firsthand, like, in front of my face.”
Tila said a friend encouraged her to make the video available to the public. “One of my friends who saw it said to me, ‘You are such a brave person, and you always try to help other people. I’m not telling you right now, but eventually, one day, maybe you should think about sharing it, because you never know whose life you’re gonna change and who you can help,’” she said.
Joseph’s takeaway? “Miracles can happen always, but since this time it was me, I’m really thankful,” he said.
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