INDIANTOWN, Fla. (CBS12) — A Martin County man rescued a mother and her three children after their Jeep overturned into a canal on Sunday.
The incident occurred around 2:41 p.m. along Allapattah Road when the vehicle veered off the roadway, according to authorities. The Jeep was hidden in tall cane grass, making it difficult to spot from the road.
Casey Curtis, the Good Samaritan, observed the vehicle accelerate off the road and immediately called 911. While attempting to locate the submerged vehicle, he heard the occupants screaming for help.
“Once I got up to the fence area, I noticed there was knocking on the window — kids screaming,” Curtis said. He disregarded advice from the 911 operator to stay back, stating, “I said, ‘No — there's kids. I'm going to help.'”
Inside the Jeep, the mother was unresponsive and her head was submerged. Curtis performed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, enabling her to breathe again. Video from responding deputies shows Curtis waist-deep in water, supporting the mother's head until help arrived.
The Martin County Sheriff's Office reported that the crash may have been caused by the driver suffering a seizure. The mother was airlifted to a nearby hospital with serious injuries, while the three children were transported with minor injuries.
Curtis expressed concern about road safety, suggesting that a guardrail should be installed to prevent similar accidents in the future.