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Not all heroes wear capes. Some, like Luis Enrique Cruz of Puebla, Mexico, simply don their work uniform when they step out to save a life. Cruz recently made headlines in his home country for saving a small girl from being struck by a speeding car after she ran onto a busy road.
The incident took place on Sunday, September 6, 2026. Cruz, a manager at Super King El Rey del Ahorro (The King of Savings), was working on his day off due to short-staffing. Although his position usually confines him to the store, he was outside helping move a pallet of toilet paper when something caught his eye.
A 3-year-old ran out of the supermarket entrance and into oncoming traffic. While Cruz saw the kid’s mother racing behind her and reaching out her hand to stop her, she slipped and fell as her daughter rushed onto the six-lane street. Luckily, Cruz happened to be watching the scene, and without a second thought, ran after the girl and picked her up seconds before she was hit by a vehicle. Store security cameras caught the dramatic incident.
Cruz later credited his paternal instinct for his quick reaction. “The store was already closing when I noticed the little girl running off,” Cruz told NMás. “My instinct was to help—I don’t know, as a father I’m always on the lookout for children—and I saw that her mother was running after her while the girl kept running. It was pure instinct; at that moment, I didn’t think things through, because it also put my safety and my life at risk.”
After learning that Cruz had prevented a tragedy, the store rewarded his bravery with 20,000 Mexican pesos ($1,184) and named him Manager of the Year. “You always show that you’re someone who stays on top of everything that happens,” the store wrote on Instagram. “You’ve demonstrated that not only through your work, but also as a person. And today we want to recognize precisely that quality you possess.”
“We feel fortunate to share this space with such an extraordinary person,” the company continued. “We don’t know if this recognition is too much or too little compared to what you did. Probably no plaque, no acknowledgment, and no award could ever do justice to the life you helped save. Congratulations, Manager of the Year. And, above all, congratulations on being the kind of person we want by our side.”
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