Stranger Saves Pregnant Woman from Sinking Car on I-95

When Shedly Appolon lost consciousness on I-95 in Martin County, Florida, her car plunged into a pond and began sinking with her trapped inside. It was her 29th birthday, and she was eight months pregnant.

Confused and disoriented, Appolon called her fiancé to tell him she was "in the water" before the phone went dead. Water began seeping through the floor as the car tilted forward into the murky brown pond.

"I tried to open my driver's side door and my passenger door, but they were both submerged in water, so I couldn't get out," Appolon told WPBF. "I started feeling water on my feet, so I started to panic a little."

That's when Logan Hayes saw what was happening. He stripped off his jacket, took a running jump into the pond, and swam to the sinking vehicle.

Hayes pried open the back door before it became submerged, creating Appolon's only escape route. "When he swung that door open, I was like you are an angel," she told reporters.

Opening a car door while it's sinking is nearly impossible. The water pressure creates a force beyond what most people can generate with their arms or legs. Hayes reached the car in that critical window before the water took over completely.

Paramedics rushed Appolon to the hospital, where doctors determined the stress from her near-death experience required an emergency C-section. Her daughter Ivory arrived seven weeks early, weighing 3 pounds 14 ounces.

Appolon's fiancé arrived at the hospital after the birth to meet his daughter. Both mother and baby are recovering well.

Sunny's Take

Hayes said he was simply happy to be at the right place at the right time. His quick thinking and courage gave Appolon not just her life back, but the chance to meet her daughter.

Ivory entered the world under the most dramatic circumstances, but she's here because a stranger decided those few seconds mattered. Sometimes being a hero just means showing up when someone needs you most.