PHILADELPHIA — A 4-year-old girl walked away out of her Northeast Philadelphia home at shortly before 3 a.m. Friday, determined to get a Slushie.
Harlan Jennifer was behind the wheel of a Philadelphia municipal bus when he was flagged down by a man who said a young girl was alone on the sidewalk, WPVI reported.
“I was like, whoa, you’ve got to be kidding me,” Jennifer said in an interview. “Not this time of night. 3:00 in the morning, a little girl? She’s a small little thing. Kind of just shocked me.”
The driver called authorities while young Annabelle explained to passengers that she was craving a frozen treat.
“She had her mind set, because I knew what she wanted,” Jennifer said. “‘All I want is a slushie.’ That’s all she said.”
Police officers responded and reunited her with her parents.
“Thank God for that bus driver,” said the girl’s father, Timothy Ridgeway.
Her mother, Jaclyn Mager, agreed: “There’s no words. He saved my daughter’s life. I’ll be forever grateful.”
