A man performed an incredible act of heroism by jumping from a bridge to save a child who fell out of a car.

Per a press release shared by the Ocean City Fire Department in Maryland, the collision occurred at approximately 2:45PM on Sunday, May 2, when several vehicles smashed into one another while driving down the Route 90 bridge.

A 23-month-year-old child fell from one car left dangling halfway over the bridge's guardrail and dropped 25 feet down into the waters of Assawoman Bay below the crossing point.

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However, a heroic man, who has not yet been identified, and whose vehicle had also been involved in the crash, spotted that the child was in distress, lying face down in the water.

He immediately leaped into action, jumping down to an area of water only five-foot deep to save the little girl and pull her out of harm's way before further tragedy.

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Commenting on the bystander's bravery in a later interview with CNN, medic and firefighter Ryan Whittington stated:

"He just jumped into action. He saved a 23-month-old child.

"There’s no doubt in our mind that if he had not [done] what he did when he did it that we would be having a different headline to this story.

"For as much tragedy that you see there, the outcome has really been a successful one. It was a very fortunate day for a lot of people who experienced traumatic injury."

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Meanwhile, senior deputy fire marshal Bob Korb told the publication: "The real hero in this situation is the good Samaritan that jumped in to provide life-saving measures for the infant. I’d like to shake his hand or buy him a beer or both someday."

Following her dramatic rescue from the water, the little girl was flown to John Hopkins Children’s Hospital to receive treatment for injuries sustained during the incident.

A total of eight other people were also left hospitalized as a result of the traffic accident, although CNN reports that all of the injured have since been discharged.

Featured Image Credit: Pexels

Hero jumps from bridge to save a child who fell out of car following collision