By A split-second decision on a crowded Florida highway likely saved two young lives over the weekend, after a passing driver spotted toddlers standing directly in the path of oncoming traffic and rushed to pull them to safety.
The incident unfolded Sunday on State Road A1A in Brevard County, near Cocoa Beach, where John Brittingham was driving southbound when he noticed two small girls alone in the roadway as vehicles approached at speed.
Brittingham immediately pulled his vehicle to the side of the road, jumped out, and ran toward the children. Video of the rescue—captured by a drone operated by Merritt Island–based Drone Geox LLC as well as Brittingham’s own dashcam—shows him raising one arm to stop traffic while scooping up the toddlers one at a time. Within seconds, he carried them out of harm’s way and onto the sidewalk.
A man jumped into action after spotting two toddlers wandering in the middle of a busy road in Brevard County, Florida. https://t.co/rYuwmDsu1O pic.twitter.com/B9KBwZHB6a
— ABC News (@ABC) January 15, 2026
A father of five and grandfather to one, Brittingham later described the moment as overwhelming in an interview with ABC News.
“I was terrified. If anything would’ve happened to them, my whole life would have been ruined,” he said.
After securing the children, Brittingham began searching for their family. He eventually traced them to a nearby rental home, where he learned the girls had slipped out through an open backyard gate without the adults—parents and grandparents—realizing they were gone.
No injuries were reported.
Authorities were not alerted during or immediately after the incident. The Cocoa Beach Police Department was not notified at the time, and ABC News later contacted the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office and the Florida Highway Patrol for comment.
Footage of the rescue, first shared on social media by Drone Geox LLC, has since circulated widely online, drawing attention to Brittingham’s decisive intervention. The video has also renewed warnings about the dangers young children face near busy roadways and the critical importance of securing gates and maintaining close supervision around open spaces.
What could have ended in tragedy instead became a moment of quiet heroism—one driver, one decision, and two children safely carried out of the path of danger.
