Man spots two toddlers wandering onto busy Florida highway, races to save them as car approaches; heroic rescue caught on camera

When young children wander away from a safe place, even a few minutes can turn into a dangerous situation, especially near a busy road. That is what happened in Florida earlier this year when two toddlers somehow made their way onto a busy stretch of A1A, leaving a passing driver with only seconds to react. The January incident was captured on dashcam footage and later shared online, showing the man running into traffic to get the children out of danger.

Man spots toddlers in middle of busy A1A

As per ABC News, the incident happened on January 11 in Cocoa Beach, Florida, in Brevard County. John Brittingham was driving southbound on State Road A1A when he noticed two young girls in the roadway, according to ABC News and local news station WESH.

Like a hero, Brittingham immediately pulled over and ran towards them. One of the toddlers was already in the middle of the road, while vehicles were still moving along the busy stretch.


Footage shared by Drone Geox LLC, a Merritt Island-based drone company, shows Brittingham running towards the girls with one hand raised, apparently trying to alert approaching drivers. A white car can be seen coming towards the area as he reaches the children.

He picked up the toddlers one after another and carried them away from the road. Brittingham later said the entire rescue took only about six seconds.

"So I immediately pulled over and I ran out 'cause one of them was already in the middle of the road, and I grabbed that one first and then the second I just picked up and got them off the road. It took like maybe six seconds," he told WESH.

He then searched for their family

Getting the girls off the road was only the first part of the situation. Brittingham did not know where their parents were, and the toddlers were too young to explain where they had come from.

He told WESH that the girls appeared to be around two years old or younger and could mostly point at things and say "Ohh."

Brittingham then started looking around the neighbourhood for their family. He went to a nearby rental property and knocked on the door, but nobody initially answered. He eventually noticed that a back gate was open.


He later found an elderly couple and a young woman inside the property. According to Brittingham, the family had not realised the toddlers had left the house.

"There was an elderly couple and a young girl, and they immediately went into like, 'Oh my God, we're so sorry.' And I was like, 'Yeah, I know, I'm just glad I could get them back to you. They were out in the road, and your gate was open,'" he said.

Brittingham says he was terrified

Brittingham, who is a father of five and grandfather, said the situation was frightening because of how close the children were to moving traffic.

"I was terrified. If anything would've happened to them, my whole life would have been ruined," he said, as per ABC News.

Brittingham said he did not contact police at the time because his immediate concern was finding the children's family and making sure they were safely reunited. The incident also left him exhausted after the adrenaline wore off.

WESH reported that the Brevard County Sheriff's Office later confirmed there were no reports or calls about the incident at the time. The family was subsequently followed up with, and no criminal charges were filed, according to a January 15 update from WESH. The sheriff's office said the children were healthy and there was no indication that drugs or alcohol were involved.

No one was injured in the incident. The dashcam footage, meanwhile, offered a clear view of just how quickly the situation unfolded and why Brittingham decided to stop and intervene.