Two Escambia County men are being heralded as heroes this week after pulling a local woman from Brushy Creek near Atmore Saturday following a car accident that left her vehicle upside down and partially submerged in water.
“I don’t know about being heroes,” Danny Wilson said.
Wilson, along with his son, Chris, pulled 23-year-old Kayla Stewart, of Rabun, from the water and called 911 after noticing clothing hanging from tree branches above the creek bottom just after lunch Saturday.
Wilson said his family lives on Deere Creek Road, which crosses over Brushy Creek, and noticed the vehicle while making a trip to Atmore.
“I had already been to town that day,” Wilson said. “Chris was headed to town to pick up some lumber. I called him and he asked, ‘was there a car in the creek when you came by?’”
Wilson said his son noticed clothing from Stewart’s car hanging from the branches and then caught a glimpse of the overturned vehicle against a creek bank.
“We went back down there and he called 911 and we saw the lady floating in the creek,” Wilson said. “She was close enough to the bank that Chris held on to a tree and leaned out and grabbed her and pulled her in.”
Atmore Fire Chief Gerry McGhee said units from Atmore Fire Department responded to the scene, but the Wilson’s effort had likely already saved Stewart’s life.
Wilson said he did not know Stewart personally, but has checked on her condition since the accident.
“I called Sunday and the guy whose son was dating her said she was physically alright,” he said.
Wilson humbly maintained he and his son only did what was necessary to help someone in need.
“We’re not heroes,” he said. “A hero, to me, is when you really risk your life for someone else. It wasn’t that dramatic. We just did something that had to be done.”
McGhee said Stewart was taken by Atmore Ambulance to the Walnut Hill, Fla. Fire Station, where she was air lifted to a Pensacola hospital.
The cause of the accident is still unknown and remains under investigation by the Alabama Sate Troopers Office.