A Leap of Faith

A car crashes on a bridge and a child is catapulted into the water below. Who will save her?

- Derek Burnett

IT WAS A bright May afternoon along the Maryland coast, and Jonathan Bauer, 51, a technology executive at a hospital, and his 13-year-old daughter, Ava, were taking full advantage of it. They were driving with the windows down as they headed home on the 1.4-milelong, two-lane Route 90 bridge, which spans the shallow waters of Assawoman Bay. Suddenly, the calm was disturbed by the squeal of tires.

Not far ahead of them, a black pickup was skidding from one lane to the other. To the Bauers' horror, it slammed into a concrete barrier, spun like a top, flipped over the SUV directly ahead of them, and came to rest dangling over the railing of the bridge. Bauer hit the brakes in time to avoid the vehicles in his path, but a BMW sedan that had smashed into the guardrail on the right came sliding backward toward him. He swerved left, but too late-the BMW struck his Volvo's fender before crashing into the vehicle behind him.

Bauer stopped the car. "Ava, are you OK?" he asked. She was shaken, but otherwise unhurt.

He ran to the BMW. "Are you OK?" he asked the driver. She nodded, too shocked to speak.