Machete star Danny Trejo rescues baby from car crash

The 75-year-old Spy Kids and Dora the Explorer actor became a real-life hero after Los Angeles car accident

UPDATED AUGUST 8, 2019 11:37 PM EDTAUG 8, 2019, 11:37 PM EDT

Danny Trejo is a familiar face thanks to his memorable roles in movies like Machete, Spy Kids and From Dusk 'Til Dawn, but the 75-year-old actor showed he's also a real-life action man when he bravely rescued a special-needs baby from an overturned car after a crash in a Los Angeles suburb. The rugged Dora and the Lost City of Gold star saw two vehicles collide at an intersection and dashed with a fellow bystander to rescue the trapped child from an SUV that had flipped over in the accident.

Danny, seen here with his Dora co-star Isabela Moner in July, pulled a baby from an overturned SUV in Los Angeles on Monday

According to reports, Danny and the other witness, identified as Monica Johnson, rushed to the SUV and worked to free the baby and the baby's grandmother, who was also trapped inside. The Hollywood veteran was able to get into the wreckage but was unable to free the baby from his car seat. Ms Johnson managed to free the child and her fellow hero Danny pulled the tot out of the car.

The rugged actor headlined the Robert Rodriguez film Machete, co-starring Jessica Alba, in 2010

The actor then kept the little one distracted with an adorable superhero strategy as emergency services reached the grandmother, who was still trapped in the vehicle. "[The baby] was panicked. I said, 'Okay, we have to use our superpowers.' So he screamed, 'Superpowers!' and we started yelling 'Superpowers!'," Danny, sporting a hat emblazoned with his "Trejo's Tacos" restaurant logo, told KABC News. "I said do this, with the muscles. He said, 'Muscles.' We got kind of a bond." Danny later would add, "The only thing that saved that little kid was that car seat, honest to God."

WATCH: Eva Longoria, Isabela Moner and Danny Trejo in Dora and the Lost City of Gold

While he often plays bad guys on screen, the star definitely has a huge heart in real life. After the near-tragedy, he said, "Everything good that has happened to me has happened as a direct result of helping someone else. Everything."