Although the passengers were anxious, “the baby herself was calm” and appeared unaffected by the commotion.
By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News
Throughout his years of driving buses in Israel, Yaakov Schwartz has found plenty of items left behind by passengers. Normally, he turns over wallets, umbrellas, jackets, and the like to the lost-and-found department of his bus company, Dan.
But last week, Schwartz found the most precious item ever forgotten by a passenger — an 8-month-old baby.
Schwartz recounted the experience on Israeli TV’s Morning News with Niv Raskin.
“I was driving line 161 from Bnei Brak to Tel Aviv… going through Ramat Gan,” he said. “It was a normal journey, quiet, everything was fine until suddenly… a passenger told me, ‘There’s a baby on the bus.’
“At first, I didn’t quite understand what she was getting at….you know, people get on the bus with babies… until she explained, ‘No, the baby’s alone in the stroller, without her parents.’”
Schwartz, a former soccer star who once played for Israel’s national team, is used to keeping a cool head under pressure. He immediately pulled over and called the police.
He and the passengers disembarked, “but everyone waited” with Schwartz and the baby until the police came. “Another line 161 bus came, and nobody got on,” he said.
Although the passengers were anxious, “the baby herself was calm” and appeared unaffected by the commotion.
“Two nice women held the baby until the police showed up,” he explained. “Everything was fine.”
After leaving the baby with the authorities, Schwartz continued his route. Later that day, he called to inquire about the baby’s condition.
While the police were unable to provide many details, they clarified that the baby had not been intentionally abandoned, and that she’d been reunited with her parents.
“It turns out it was a father who simply forgot,” Schwartz said, chuckling.
He added that the public should resist the urge to draw negative conclusions about the parents.
“I don’t judge anyone,” he said, dismissing the idea with a wave of his hand.
“I simply have no idea what happened.”