On Thursday, nanny Melody Cada was walking near 18th Street and Eighth Avenue with an 8-month-old baby in a stroller. Police said a woman confronted her and tried to kidnap the boy.
"She grabbed the stroller … and I started fighting and fighting and fighting," said Cada.
Tara Anne McDonald, 46, of Queens has been arrested in the attempted abduction . She has 12 prior arrests, mostly for kidnapping and attempted kidnapping.
"I realized this woman is crazy and not normal," said Cada.
In initial reports, a nearby UPS worker stepped in to help, but Cada said a German man who was walking in Chelsea with his family came to her rescue and fought McDonald off. "This guy grabbed the stroller," she said.
Cada said the UPS worker saw the incident, encouraged her to call police and talked to the baby's mother when she arrived at the scene. But the other man vanished, she said.
"After he helped me, he just took off as if nothing happened," said Cada.
Mainly, Cada said she is grateful to the stranger. "I'm very thankful that he saved me and the baby's lives," she said.
