When tornadoes ravaged north Texas this past weekend, a story emerged that has touched the hearts of many, thanks to social and traditional media. Millions watched a heart-stopping rescue, captured in real time on video, as a handful of Good Samaritans helped free the Ocheltree family from their truck which had overturned in swift floodwaters.
It’s not hard to imagine the desperation of the parents—Phillip and Emily Ocheltree—trapped in the front of the vehicle, able to breathe but unable to move to help their submerged children themselves. Flashes of lightning and cracking thunder provided a dramatic backdrop as the strangers worked feverishly to open the truck doors against the raging current, one yelling, “Call 9-1-1!”
As one of the babies was finally extricated from the vehicle, the man brings the seemingly lifeless child up to where Tom Mitchell was filming what was happening on his cell phone. The other child—a little girl—was then also pulled from the truck and soon after, the picture goes dark, as Mitchell put the phone in his pocket but kept it recording.
It was truly a group effort—judging from the cell phone audio—as Mitchell and others were joined by Jaime Martinez, a former firefighter-turned musician, according to an 11Alive report. Fortunately, Martinez had remembered his CPR training. As the men worked on four-month-old Marshal and 2-year-old Addyson, a woman can be heard loudly praying, “In the name of Jesus, let him breathe Lord. Give that baby breath, Lord! Dear Jesus, please let this baby breathe. Dear Jesus, please let this baby breathe.”
Following the stunning rescue, Faithwire reports that Addyson is now in stable condition as she recovers at Children’s Medical Center in Dallas, and Marshal—who had suffered only “minimal injuries”—had already been released on Monday.
“I just want to hug those people who helped us,” Emily said. “It was “by the grace of God” that the men were able to open the doors of the submerged truck and rescue their children. Emily admits that—as of yet—she has not been able to bring herself to watch Tom Mitchell’s video of the rescue.
“Maybe in a couple of days or weeks…” says Emily. Either way, it will be a constant reminder of answered prayer and how total strangers can become Good Samaritans when needed.