A 2-year-old Worcester girl was found shivering and crying out in the cold overnight by a Lyft driver, according to Worcester Police.
The little girl was found around 3 a.m. Wednesday morning outside the Lincoln Village Apartments in Worcester when the temperature was around 15 degrees.
Vida Mazyck's son Ashton, a Lyft driver, had arrived home from picking up a fare, and was looking for a parking spot when he spotted what he first thought was a small animal by the door.
"My son gave me a call and said, 'Mom, come quickly, bring a blanket,'" Vida Mazyck said. "He said, 'I found a child outside the building.'"
The two rushed the sobbing toddler upstairs, wrapped her in blankets and called police.
The child had no coat or shoes on, and her bare feet were caked in ice and salt.
"Her feet were numb," Vida Mazyck said. "I kept saying, 'Does this hurt?' And she couldn't feel me rubbing her feet."
Worcester Police tell Boston 25 News the toddler's mother was working an overnight shift, and her grandmother was watching her at their apartment.
When the grandmother was sleeping, the child somehow slipped out.
"We asked, 'Was mommy asleep?' and she said, 'Mommy work.'" Vida Mazyck said.
Ashton, a behavioral therapist who works with children, told Boston 25 News by phone that finding the little girl broke his heart.
"She just kept saying that it was so cold, it was so cold," Ashton Mazyck said. "So, we kept trying to warm her, rub her arms and legs and everything."
The child was rushed to a hospital, nearly hypothermic, but is now okay.
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"I don't know how long she was out there, but I'm just definitely thankful, you know, that I was there when I was," Ashton Mazyck said.
Meanwhile, Vida, who worries about her son working late hours, is glad he was this time.
"We're just so grateful," Vida Mazyck said. "I am so grateful."
Police say they have not filed any charges against the family of the little girl.