Two Army civilian professionals and a contractor who provide information technology support at Fort Rucker found themselves at the right place at the right time to help save a life in the local community Aug. 15.

David E. Gardner II and John. J. Perez, both Army civilian IT specialists, and Michael V. Henderson, a contractor who works as a program manager, decided to break their routine of eating lunch on post that day, and instead to call in an order and make the drive to Enterprise.

After eating lunch, they headed back along U.S. Highway 84 East. As they neared Daleville, a storm had moved in and the rain was coming down hard. As the wiper blades pumped against a wet, gray horizon, the banter in their vehicle was mostly about getting the coffee order ready so they could make a quick stop and take it back to the office.

Then it happened: As they approached the bridge just before the intersection of Tank Hill Road, a car up in front of them suddenly hydroplaned. The vehicle went off the road to the left and disappeared out of sight.

“They hit a patch of water or something and you could see the water just kind of kick up, and then the car just veers to the left like it got lifted,” Gardner said. “We see them hydroplane, at least that’s what it looked like, veer off to the left and just shoot down between the bridges.”

Perez estimated they were approximately 100 yards behind the vehicle at the time.

Henderson’s response was immediate: “Siri, call 911.”

While he relayed the information and location, Gardner, who was driving, continued just beyond the site of the incident, did a U-turn, and headed back toward the scene, with Perez eager for him to stop the vehicle so they could render help.

In the pouring rain, the three of them quickly made their way down a mass of large rocks. Approximately 80 yards from the road, and about a 20- to 25-foot drop from the bridge, they found the car overturned in the creek. Another individual was also making their way down to try to help.

“The car had turned a complete 180 and was facing the direction it came in,” Gardner said.

They discovered a gentleman was trapped in the car, with his dog on his lap, driver side down in the creek. Their only thought in that moment was they had to get the car flipped back over and out of the water.

After taking a few spills themselves while navigating the large slippery rocks and sandy banks just to get down to the car, they immediately waded into the water to get a good hold onto the vehicle. They could feel the current moving against them, and estimated the creek was three to four feet deep in places. With the way they had to position themselves in the creek to try to lift the vehicle, the water was chest-high on Gardner.

“We got down there, kind of just called out like ‘All right, everybody push at the same time’, got underneath it, counted out 1,2,3,” Gardner said. Working quickly as a team, they and another individual were able to flip the car back over on its wheels.

After getting the car door open, they lifted the airbag and began talking to the driver to see if the gentleman was responsive. They heard the man say, “Take my dog.” They helped get the gentleman’s dog to safety. The man expressed that he was in pain, and also asked if they could get the keys out of the car, so Gardner proceeded to the other side of the vehicle to continue to help.

“The car was still in drive,” Gardner said. He put the car in park and took out the keys.

By that time, first responders had arrived and taken charge of the scene, so the Fort Rucker trio relayed information to them and also provided their dashcam footage of the incident. They returned to the office, clad in their business attire including button-down shirts, soaked and dirty, and scraped up a bit.

Henderson’s phone rang, and it was his mother, who had just passed by the area where the incident happened.

“She said, ‘You are not going to believe this, I just went by the bridge by your work and there are cops everywhere. Someone went into the river’,” Henderson said.

He explained to her that they had just been on the scene and were able to help out.

Dave Southerland, Technology and Support Division chief, G-6, lauded their efforts. “I am extremely proud of their selfless actions. It is an absolute pleasure to work side-by-side with these gentlemen every day,” he said.

Gardner recalled that everything happened quickly that day, including local police arrival on the scene.

Henderson noted a number of circumstances that day that were not the norm for them, and the timing of events, that all seemed to land them at someone’s moment of need.

They normally ate at the post dining facility, but Gardner’s wife happened to send him a buy-one, get-one sandwich deal for a restaurant they had never gone to for lunch, that was further out than they usually drive. He and Henderson happened to link up with Perez in the parking lot, to make it a party of three.

The obvious return route from the restaurant was Rucker Boulevard, but instead they took U.S. 84 East thinking they could grab coffee to take back to the office, which put them on glide path to help save a life.

“Needless to say, we did not need coffee after that,” Henderson said.

Looking back, they felt they were where they were supposed to be that day.

“Thank God we were there for that,” Gardner said. “We were put there for a reason.”

“There was no question we were going to help,” Henderson said. “God had a purpose.”

One thing that stood out to Henderson was how people who never met worked together as a team.

“The female who was there that helped, we didn’t know her at all and she didn’t know us, we didn’t even speak to each other, but we were all trying to do the same thing – save that guy,” Henderson said.

“Michael and the female got down there first. They tried on their own” to move the vehicle but couldn’t, Perez said. “We had the right amount of people at the right time. It took all four of us to get it flipped over.”

“Ultimately, we were just happy we were there to help. Hopefully the gentleman is doing OK by now, it’s been a few days, and is at least able to get back home,” Perez said.

Perez said it wasn’t his first experience with the seriousness of hydroplaning. He recalled as a teenager an incident where he hydroplaned, the seat belt snapped and he was ejected from the vehicle.

All three said they would urge people to exercise caution when driving, especially with ponding on roadways when it rains, and how quickly life-altering events can happen.

“Just be careful. Drive for the weather. Slow down,” Gardner said. “You never know what could happen.”

Courtesy of the U.S. Army.