What began as an ordinary Sunday drive quickly turned into a life-saving act of courage when one man’s alert glance in his rearview mirror changed everything.
Casey Curtis was travelling along a quiet stretch of road when he noticed a vehicle behind him suddenly accelerate, veer sharply to the right and disappear into roadside bushes. Sensing something was wrong, he immediately pulled over, called emergency services and followed the fresh tire tracks off the road.
Beyond the brush, he discovered a frightening scene: a Jeep overturned and half-submerged in a canal.
“I got to the car, opened up the door, and there were three kids sitting there, staring at me, helpless,” Curtis later told local media.
Inside were three young children ages eight, two and just four months crying out for help. Their mother had suffered a seizure while driving and was trapped inside, her head underwater.
Without hesitation, Curtis lifted the children out first, carrying them safely to the bank. Then he waded back into the canal, water rising to his chest, to reach the driver.
“I lifted the mom’s head out of the water, and she wasn’t breathing,” he said. “I gave her a breath, and she started breathing again.”
First responders soon arrived on Allapattah Road in Martin County and rushed the family to hospital. Relatives later confirmed the children escaped unharmed, while their mother, Shyenique Wilkins, continued recovering under medical care.
Curtis said he believes it was no coincidence he happened to be there when he was needed most.
He reflected that the road had been nearly empty, and without someone nearby to witness the crash, the overturned vehicle may have gone unnoticed behind the tree line.
Instead, one person’s quick action and steady courage turned a terrifying accident into a story of survival proof that sometimes heroes really do show up right on time.
As Curtis humbly put it, he was simply grateful to help. For one family, though, his presence made all the difference between tragedy and a second chance.