Man driving through traffic spotted two toddlers wandering alone in the road — the next 6 seconds were the 'most terrifying' of his life
It only takes a few seconds of awareness and the courage to act to stop a moment from turning into a tragedy. That reality played out on a busy stretch of A1A in Brevard County when a quick-thinking passerby stepped into heavy traffic and rescued two toddlers, who were wandering into the roadway. According to footage, cars were moving at high speeds, and drivers were swerving abruptly to avoid the kids, reported WESH 2 News on Tuesday, January 13, 2026. The dramatic rescue was captured on the dashcam, in which two very young children, believed to be around two years old or younger, were walking alone across the highway.
The road is already known for multiple deadly crashes involving both vehicles and pedestrians, making the situation more dangerous. According to the outlet, John Brittingham was driving southbound on A1A and saw the toddler in the middle of traffic. Without a second thought, he quickly stopped his car and ran into the road. “So I immediately pulled over there, and I ran out of the car, and one of them was going to the middle of the road,” he said. He grabbed the one running into the middle first, then he picked up the second one. The heroic rescue took “terrifying six seconds of his life.” Brittingham said, “My adrenaline spiked. I had a migraine when I finally got home. I was drained completely for the rest of the day.”
In the dashcam footage taken from his vehicle, Brittingham is seen stopping traffic with one hand while lifting the children to safety. Soon after their rescue, he searched for their caregivers. He tried knocking on the door of a nearby Airbnb but got no response. “I went all around the house, and no one seemed to hear me yelling. I was calling for someone to see if anybody knew, because the girls weren't telling me anything,” he said. After searching for a while, he found an open back gate from where the children apparently stepped out. He eventually found their parents. An elderly couple and a young girl, who immediately reacted: “Oh my God, we're so sorry.” To which Brittingham replied, “Yeah, no, I'm just glad I could get him back to you. They were out in the road, and your gate was open.”
The incident left Brittingham a little shaken but grateful, as he himself is a father and grandfather. His primary concern was to get the children safely back to their parents rather than involve the authorities. “Bottom line, you have got to watch your children,” he added, giving a message to parents and caregivers. The outlet reached out to Cocoa Beach Police and the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office; however, Cocoa Beach said that the case wasn't within their jurisdiction. Meanwhile, the Sheriff’s office revealed that no calls or reports had been filed.