Immigrants from other countries coming to America have recently been in the spotlight. The president has referred to immigrants from Mexico in particular as ‘criminals, killers, smugglers and rapists’.
But I think he would change his mind if he met 31-year-old Benny Coronado Rodriguez, from Denton, Texas.
A woman and her 2-year-old daughter would most certainly have been killed if it wasn’t for Benny’s heroic effort.
But on Tuesday, for no particular reason, he decided to take a completely different way to work. Call it fate or gut feeling — that trivial decision would end up having a big impact on the lives of many.
Benny, who grew up in Mexico, sang along to “Tennessee Whiskey” by Chris Stapleton in his pickup when he suddenly saw a car partially submerged in the creek that ran next to him.
Through torrential rain and lightning, Benny immediately stopped and got out of his car. It’s then he heard cries for help emerging from the sinking car — what sounded to him as a desperate women’s voice.
When Benny approached, he heard the woman shouting that her 2-year-old daughter was stuck inside the car.
The mother had managed to get out of the car — but water was streaming into the back seat where her daughter sat.
“I asked if she was OK, and she said, ‘Yes, but I’ve got water inside the car and I’ve got my 2-year-old daughter with me,'” says Rodriguez, who is married has two daughters of his own, aged 7 and 10.
Benny realized that there was no time to wait for help or dialling 911. He decided to save the woman and her child.
“I ran to my truck, grabbed my rope, tied myself and then jumped in the water,” he tells Denton Chronicle.
He tied the other end of the rope to a tree and then jumped into the water without hesitation, as another driver stopped by and called the police.
Using his left hand, he managed to pull the girl through the window. Thankfully the window was sufficiently open to allow Bobby to rescue her.
“When she told me she had a little girl, in my mind it was my daughters,” he says.
30 minutes after Benny’s heroic act, firemen arrived to the scene of the accident. According to Fire Chief Luke Ridinger, the mother and daughter only suffered minor injuries and didn’t need to be taken to a hospital
But if Benny had not come by, things could have turned out much worse.
“The water was high enough that if they were stuck in the car, it could have potentially been a fatal accident,” the fire chief says.
According to Ridinger, the woman had lost control of the vehicle in the rain. At least one person has died on the unfortunate road this year, he added.
Tears of gratitude
After the accident, the woman’s husband came and fetched her and her daughter. Benny never asked for her name — because he had to hurry up to work, he says.
He only remembers the tears of appreciation that streamed down her cheeks.
“I told her, ‘God bless you’ and she was crying telling me, ‘God bless you, too,'” says Benny.
Benny may not look like all the superheroes we watch in movies, but this wonderful mechanic showed humanity and acted when needed most.
The world needs more everyday heroes like Benny — please share this story on Facebook to pay tribute to him!
