Good Samaritan was stunned by what he felt when he grabbed a woman’s hip pulling her from a sinking car — hours later, she heard her newborn cry
In emergencies, the timing of help can make all the difference. Sebastian man Logan Hayes was stuck in traffic on his way to work when he noticed a vehicle sinking in a nearby pond in Martin County. While most people may have panicked or ignored the situation, Hayes did not. He jumped without a second thought and found a woman inside the car. He pulled her out and grabbed her by her hips when he realized the shocking truth. Thanks to his quick thinking, she gave birth to her baby hours later. Reported by WPBF on Tuesday, February 9, 2026, the woman's fiancé was grateful to Hayes for saving two lives.
Florida resident Logan Hayes was stuck in traffic while heading south of Interstate 95. As he stopped in Martin County, he saw a car sinking in a pond near a rest stop. Hayes, who is no stranger to water, works on a private sport-fishing boat and has helped people surf. But he had never been in a situation where he had to rescue someone. In that moment, Hayes knew he had to find out if there was anyone who needed help. He quickly jumped in and swam toward the car. Luckily, the back passenger door was still above water. He opened the door to find a woman panicking inside. He guided her on how to get out of the car.
"She comes in between the two front seats and climbs ... she's coming into the backseat. The car is now starting to tilt more and roll down and more over. It's water flooding the car," Hayes explained. To swim back to shore, he grabbed her by her hips, and that's when he realized the truth. 
The woman was pregnant. "So, when I was holding her, that's when I realized she was pregnant because obviously I was wrapped around her and could feel her stomach," he explained. 29-year-old Shedly Apollon was on her way to get her prenatal massage for her birthday when she began to feel dizzy. As Apollon tried to pull over her car, it veered off the road and fell into the pond. As per CBS 12 News, she attempted to open both the driver’s and passenger doors, but water was rushing in, trapping her inside. As she began to lose hope, Hayes appeared and rescued her and her unborn child.
According to PEOPLE, he swam back to the shore with her, and the Martin County Fire Rescue crew arrived, who inspected to confirm if there were any other occupants in the car. Hayes was glad he rescued her, but he was also shaken by how close the situation had come to tragedy. "When I got a hold of her and turned around, the car was already under the water and gone," he revealed. The woman was hospitalized immediately, where she gave birth to her daughter, Ivory Sully, at HCA Florida Lawnwood Hospital in Fort Pierce. Both mother and daughter now share the same birth date, something Apollon believes to be a miracle that was meant to happen. Hayes later got in touch with her fiancé, who thanked him for saving both his partner and their baby.