GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — A Gwinnett County child was reunited with his family after a good Samaritan saw him walking in the middle of a busy road and got him to safety.
Channel 2 Gwinnett County Bureau Chief Matt Johnson was near Lilburn, where the Samaritan, Tim Fletcher, said the boy has special needs.
That made it even more important for him to get the child to safety and find his parents.
Fletcher told Channel 2 Action News that when he found the boy, he was meant to be there.
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“I had no reason to be there whatsoever,” Fletcher said.
He told Johnson that he’d never met the boy before.
Fletcher was out running errands on Sunday night when cars in front of him were slowing down.
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That’s when Fletcher saw the boy standing alone in the middle of the lane.
“He couldn’t respond to me, and that’s when I knew, all right, we just got to do something,” Fletcher told Channel 2 Action News.
Fletcher said he took the boy’s hand and walked him over to a nearby driveway around 7 p.m. that night. He could tell the boy had special needs and was about eight-years-old.
They sat together and watched videos on his phone, Fletcher said.
“I got him by his shirt and immediately I just tried to say ‘hey, no, you’re not in trouble,’” Fletcher said.
He ended up carrying the boy on his shoulder for about 30 minutes and took his picture. Fletcher had already called the Gwinnett County Police Department within just two minutes of pulling over after seeing the boy.
Fletcher told Channel 2 Action News that he was worried someone else, with bad intentions, might come along.
“The kid can’t communicate or defend himself, or even run from danger,” Fletcher said.
soon, several women and children ran down the road to look for the boy.
Officers checked the boy out and then he was safely reunited with his family.
Fletcher said he nearly skipped running his errand that night, then missed his turn and cut through a road he never drives on, leading him to the area he found the boy.
“God puts us where we need to be,” Fletcher said.
Gwinnett County police didn’t charge the boy’s parents, telling Johnson they believed it was an accident after a family gathering.
Fletcher said the police did warn the parents though since the situation could have ended very differently.
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