Good Samaritans who saved dangling toddlers in Hermosa speak out

CHICAGO (WLS) -- The good Samaritans who stepped in to help save two toddlers in diapers dangling out of an apartment window in Chicago's Hermosa neighborhood are speaking about the incident for the first time Friday.

"I'm like oh my god. I can't believe this is happening. I was shaking. I wanted to cry," said Denise Ochoa.

She and her cousin Jennifer Salgado said it all happened in a matter of minutes. Two 2-year-olds in diapers were hanging out of an apartment window more than 20 feet above solid concrete.

"His feet were dangling, I was like oh my god. Oh my god. Like, I hope nothing happens," Jennifer Salgado said.

When the pair saw the kids in danger, they pulled over immediately to help. Denise stayed right below the window.

"I got under the window just in case the baby fell," she said. "Every time they would move, we would get scared because we didn't know if they would fall off the window or not."

A few moments later, the cousins said a man with a ladder in his truck pulled over and rushed to help as well.

"Right away he put up the ladder, put the baby back inside and closed the window," Ochoa said.

"I just did what I had to do as a human. I'm not going to stop helping people," said Darshan Patel, the man with the ladder.

But the good Samaritans said they have one lingering question.

"I was like where are the parents? Someone please come get the babies because they are going to fall off," Ochoa said. "And no one would come out the window."

They said no one came down. Chicago Police said there was an adult home at the time, but that person didn't see what was happening.

"Who knows what could have happened to those babies?" Salgado said.

The Department of Children and Family Services said it is investigating the incident, and the children have been placed with relatives under a safety plan.

DCFS said they have not had prior contact with the children or their family.