The day after jumping from a window 24-year-old Christina Simoes is in the hospital with a broken back, but she said she’s just glad her son is OK.
Simoes and her 18-month-old son Cameron were in their apartment in Haverhill Wednesday afternoon when a fire broke out in the building; she says before she knew what was going on they were surrounded.
Simoes decided to grab Cameron and jump from their balcony.
“I was trying to decide if I had time to wait for a fire fighter or if I had to jump and there just wasn’t enough time to wait for a firefighter. So I grabbed Cameron and I gave him a kiss and then I jumped,” she said.
She broke her back when she landed, but her son was OK. The two of them still had to get away from the building.
“I just kept telling him to run but he’s too little to know what that means,” Simoes said. “I was crawling on my elbows, ashes and debris falling on me.”
Cameron’s great-great-grandfather said he’s very proud of her decision.
“It’s still kind of settling in. I’m so proud of that young girl it’s all about the bravery that she did. My great-great grandson wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for her. I can’t imagine what she went through,” Richard Collins said.
Although she will still be in the hospital Simoes said she’s looking forward to holding and hugging her son on Mother’s Day.