Actor Danny Trejo Rescues Special Needs Child From Overturned Car After Witnessing Accident

Actor Danny Trejo had a real-life movie moment when he helped rescue a small child from an overturned vehicle earlier this week.

Trejo, 75, was in the Sylmar area of Los Angeles on Wednesday afternoon when he witnessed two cars collide, KABC reports. One of the vehicles was flipped onto its roof, leaving a small child in a car seat and the child’s grandmother both trapped inside, according to the outlet.

Trejo, along with another bystander, sprung into action, with Trejo crawling into one side of the car to attempt to unbuckle the child’s seat belt. When he was unable to do so, the second bystander, a young woman, reportedly entered the car from the other side and undid the child’s restraints, allowing Trejo to pull the child out of the car safely.

“The only thing that saved the little kid was his car seat,” Trejo told a photographer at the crash site, according to CNN.

Trejo entertained the child, who has special needs, until firefighters arrived on the scene and were able to use special equipment to pull the grandmother from her overturned vehicle, according to KABC. Although the child was “panicked,” Trejo said that he has experience working with special needs children and was able to help the child stay calm by playing with him, the station reports.

“We got kind of a bond. I kept facing him away from the accident,” he said.

The Los Angeles Fire Department said that following the crash, which occurred at around 3:08 p.m., three people were transported to the hospital, but no major injuries were reported, NBC Los Angeles reports.

Trejo, a film veteran and restaurateur, pressed the importance of helping others when speaking with KABC at the scene.

“Everything good that has happened to me has happened as a direct result of helping someone else,” he said in a brief video. “Everything.”