In a last desperate act after being cruelly pushed to her death 15 floors off a Bronx balcony, a brave young mom saved her baby girl by cradling the child in her arms, cushioning her from what would have been a fatal fall, officials and neighbors believe.
That last act of motherly love may have saved the doomed child’s life — an ultimate act of sacrifice from someone knowing with absolute certainty that the end was near.
Just moments earlier, a neighbor heard Nathaly Ramirez, 23, pleading for her life right before she slammed onto the cold grass behind the building where she lived on Olinville Ave. near Allerton Ave. early Tuesday.
When first responders arrived, the mortally wounded Ramirez was still holding her baby in her arms, witnesses said.
“The mother landed on her feet. She was still holding the baby,” one neighbor, who wished not to be named, told the Daily News as he described the grisly scene. “I saw them when they took them out. The baby was still hanging on. The baby was still alive.”
It’s believed Ramirez cushioned the 8-month-old girl’s fall, saving the child’s life.
Neighbors found Ramirez lying on the ground, still breathing, a source with knowledge of the case said. Witnesses quickly called for an ambulance, saying that the baby was with the mom, still breathing as well.
Cops have identified Ramirez’s estranged boyfriend, Angel Carrasco, as a suspect in her death. NYPD detectives were searching for Carrasco Wednesday.
The baby girl was rushed to Jacobi Medical Center. On Wednesday, her condition had improved from critical to stable, and she’s expected to survive, authorities said. Her mother, taken by medics to the same hospital, could not be saved.
An upstairs neighbor said the victim was arguing with a man on the balcony shortly before she fell at 3:38 a.m.
“They were both on the terrace. She was holding the baby. She told him to leave her alone. She was telling him, ‘Stop, you’re scaring the baby,’” said Nancy Morales, 69, who overheard the quarrel from her balcony on the 16th floor.
The man she was arguing with was “using the f-word,” Morales remembered.
“He said, ‘You want me to do it? You want me to do it?’” she recalled. “I was scared. I just said a prayer and went to sleep.”
Carrasco should be considered “ARMED AND DANGEROUS,” an NYPD wanted poster warns.
Anyone with information regarding Carrasco’s whereabouts is urged to call NYPD Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential.