Surveillance video captured a group of Good Samaritans rescuing a driver who suffered a medical episode and lost control of her vehicle at a busy intersection in Boynton Beach, Florida.
A co-worker, who was two lanes over, saw the woman slumped over her steering wheel as her car slowly drifted diagonally past the stoplight. Immediately, she raced across the street and waved her arms to alert other motorists of the emergency.
A service member wearing a camouflage uniform trailed closely behind, but cars speeding past interrupted his sprint.
“Our understanding is that they both left work, and they were in lanes next to each other,” said Boynton Beach police spokesperson Stephanie Slater. “And so, co-worker looked over and saw her co-worker slumped over the wheel.”
The co-worker, later identified as Jannette Rivera, then attempts to guide the black sedan to safety before other drivers start coming out of their vehicles toward the moving car.
The group banded together and put their weight against the car to try and stop it from hitting other vehicles.
A woman then grabbed a small dumbbell from her car and handed it to a man, who smashed the rear window.
Another person climbed inside to unlock the passenger door and set the vehicle in park.
The group then pushed the vehicle to a nearby 7-11, where a nurse on the phone with 911 provided aid to the unconscious driver until a fire department crew arrived.
The woman was later identified as Laurie Rabyor by CBS12 News. She said that on May 5, she took blood pressure pills and fasted before a medical procedure.
While driving, she felt dizzy and tried to pull over to a gas station, but she started convulsing.
Laurie didn’t wake up until the next day, but she has since recovered and returned to work.
“Thank you so much. I don’t know how to thank you. I wish I was a millionaire, so I could buy y’all a boat,” is what Laurie told CBS12 News she would say to her rescuers if she met them.
After the incident, the Boynton Beach Police Department shared the surveillance video on its social media pages, hoping to identify the Good Samaritans and thank them for their efforts.
“We are sharing this video in hopes of learning the identities of all the strangers who came together to save this woman’s life,” wrote the police department. “They are heroes and we want to bring them back together at the police department to recognize them and meet the woman they rescued.”
They also provided the email address of the public information officer where people could send any leads.
“It really restores your faith in humanity,” said Slater. “We wanted to get this video out there and do something to honor these people.”
The act of kindness earned tons of praise from the community, and within three hours of posting the video, the department was flooded with calls and emails with tips.
In an update, the police said they have been in touch with a few of the helpful motorists and will be reuniting them with Laurie at their headquarters.
The man in uniform who stopped to help was later identified as U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Juan Chavez.
“She wasn’t responsive initially,” he recalled. “Once we got the door open, she became more responsive.”
Davita Peele, a U.S. Postal Service worker, said she had just gotten off work and dropped by Home Depot when she saw a woman running through the intersection while screaming, “help me, help me.”
That’s when she realized something was seriously wrong, so she got out of her car to direct traffic.
“I didn’t know what the situation was, but I saw that woman leaning over [the wheel] and something clicked. It can happen to anyone at any given time. We should help each other,” she said.
Kudos to the individuals who jumped in action to help this woman!
Click on the video below to see the dramatic turn of events.
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