INDIANTOWN, Fla. (CBS12) — A Martin County man rescued a mother and her three children from a submerged Jeep on Sunday along Allapattah Road.
According to the Martin County Sheriff's Office, the vehicle veered off the roadway into a canal hidden by tall grass. Witnesses reported the crash may have occurred after the driver suffered a seizure.
The Good Samaritan, Casey Curtis, said he observed the Jeep accelerate and drive off the road shortly after finishing work. Realizing the gravity of the situation, Curtis called 911 and approached the canal, which was not visible from the road.
Curtis noted that he heard screaming as he reached the overturned vehicle. “There was knocking, banging on the window — kids screaming,” he said. Despite warnings from the 911 operator, he entered the water to assist.
Inside the vehicle, the mother was unresponsive with her head submerged. Curtis provided rescue breaths until she began to breathe again. Body camera footage shows him waist-deep in the canal, holding the mother's head above water until first responders arrived.
Emergency crews transported the mother via air to a nearby hospital with serious injuries, while the three children sustained minor injuries and were taken by ground to a local facility.
Curtis hopes a guardrail is installed along that stretch of Allapattah Road to prevent similar incidents in the future.