Houston Strangers Save 3 Women From Crushed Car

When Jack Johnson saw a barrier crumble on Houston's Beltway 8 and spotted a flattened car on the Southwest Freeway below, he didn't think twice about stopping. What happened next showed the best of what strangers can do when someone needs help.

The car had flown off an HOV overpass Wednesday evening after the driver lost control while speeding. It landed upside down in the middle of traffic, completely crushed with three women trapped inside screaming for help.

Johnson arrived to find other drivers already working to free them. "All I can just hear is the young girls in there just screaming, yelling, 'Get me out. Get me out,'" Johnson said. "And I thought about my little girls."

Hearing those voices gave everyone hope. The alternative would have been unthinkable.

The group of strangers organized themselves without discussion. Some grabbed sledgehammers and poles from their vehicles. Others stood on top of the crushed car, sniffing for gas leaks and ready with fire extinguishers. Everyone focused on one goal: getting those women out safely.

They worked relentlessly until first responders arrived to complete the rescue. Against all odds, all three women survived with injuries that weren't life threatening.

Sunny's Take

The strangers never exchanged names. After the women were safely removed, they shook hands and went their separate ways, anonymous heroes who happened to be in the right place at the right moment.

Johnson hopes to reconnect with both the other rescuers and the three women. For now, the memory of what happened stays with him for a different reason.

"Houston comes together," Johnson said. "At a time of need, we come together and that made me feel wonderful that everybody would just stop their lives to deal with another person that was in danger."

The investigation into the crash continues, but the real story isn't about what went wrong. It's about the people who saw someone in trouble and refused to keep driving.