Neighbor recounts saving newborn baby trapped in tornado debris in Michigan home
By Simon Shaykhet
Click here for updates on this story
LIVONIA, Michigan (WXYZ) — A neighbor is recalling an amazing life-saving measure after a deadly EF1 tornado struck Livonia on Wednesday.
For the first time, Joe Grech is looking back on the moment he saw a newborn baby buried in debris and acted quickly to pull her to safety.
“As I was looking out the stairway, I said are we getting hit with a tornado?” Grech said. “You hear the heavy raindrops hitting the window real fast.”
He told us when he looked outside, “The whole street was just in shambles.”
The force of the storm snapped a large tree that crashed through a home near I-275 and Schoolcraft Road.
“I told my son, ‘Let me go see’ and took off running to their backyard and I could see the tree down,” Grech said.
Inside the home he told us, “I’d see particles of the room and tree on top of it. I started pushing around insulation. Put my hand under the rafters and a little baby’s arm came up. So, I put my hand behind her head and lifted her out without hitting the wood, and I brushed her off.”
“When we took her out, there was a bit of crying, you know, and I still visualize everything.”
The family tragically lost their 3-year-old son Cooper, and his mother suffered serious injuries.
“I’m heartbroken that anyone has to face this,” Grech said. “You always think it’s not going to happen here and then it happens.”
Two online fundraisers have been set up for the family.
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.
