Hero Uses His Own Car to Safely Stop Runaway SUV, Saving Woman and Child on Busy Highway

July 18, 2026

A Washington man is being praised for his quick-thinking after using his own car to safely stop an out-of-control SUV on the interstate, helping save a woman experiencing a medical emergency and the young child riding in the back seat.

Paul Jackson (left) | Credit: Dantu Evans / Fox 13

The dramatic rescue happened Tuesday on southbound I-5 near Fife, Washington, where witnesses watched in horror as an SUV repeatedly struck the concrete barrier after reportedly colliding with another vehicle. It quickly became clear that the driver wasn't simply distracted. Something was seriously wrong.

Among the drivers on the highway was Paul Jackson of Roy, Washington.

"When I saw the car cut across three lanes, I knew something was wrong," Jackson recalled. As he pulled alongside the SUV, he caught a glimpse of the driver.

"Her face was up, out of it, eyes rolled into the back of her head," he said.

Then he noticed a frightened young boy strapped into a child safety seat.

"He was scared. Poor kid. He was scared."

Without hesitating, Jackson decided he couldn't just watch from a distance.

"It was something I didn't really even think about. I just did it," he said. "Somebody had to do something."

Using his Kia Forte, Jackson carefully maneuvered alongside the SUV, positioning his vehicle so he could gently guide it toward the concrete barrier and bring it to a controlled stop.

"I got her in front and just kind of pushed her on over," he explained. "I didn't want anything to go south. I just slowly glided her to a stop, and it worked."

Cell phone video captured the remarkable moment as Jackson's car gradually squeezed the SUV against the barrier until it came to a safe stop, preventing what could have been a devastating crash.

Once the vehicles stopped, Jackson immediately rushed over, shifted the SUV into park, helped get the child to safety, and stayed with the driver until police officers, firefighters, EMTs, and other Good Samaritans arrived to help.

The only downside? He ended up running late to pick up his wife's birthday cake. To make sure she believed his unbelievable excuse, he texted her photos from the scene.

"Proof that I wasn't pranking," he joked. "If you had to have an excuse, that would be a good one."

Despite laughing about the situation afterward, Jackson says his decision was never really a choice.

"God put me there to do that," he said.

He hopes others remember that opportunities to help someone in need can appear when we least expect them.

"You get so many opportunities to do things for other people, but we are so busy... and you pass by and think, 'Should I have helped that person?'" Jackson said. "This was not going to be that case. I knew I was going to stop this vehicle no matter what."

Thanks to one ordinary driver who refused to drive past, a terrifying situation ended with a safe rescue instead of a tragedy.