Former Cane, Kids to the Rescue

After a prep football competition in Tampa, the trip home for a group of Hollywood Hills players was typical as they crossed the state along the rim of Lake Okeechobee: rainy and dark.

Then a waving man on the side of the road caught the eye of their coach, who was behind the wheel of their van.

Over the course of the next hour, they went from athletes to heroes.

The players and their coach rescued a Flagler Beach couple and their granddaughter Sunday night from an SUV, overturned and sinking in a canal along U.S. 27.

All three survived the crash, although the grandmother, Juanita Carrillo Bryan, 53, was in critical condition at Lee Memorial Hospital's intensive care unit in Fort Myers on Monday.

''It was something out of a movie,'' said coach Scott Barnwell, a former kicker for the University of Miami Hurricanes. ``I jumped in and found that there were people inside. It was all a blur after that.''

Bryan was unconscious with her head below water when the team, returning from a football tournament at the University of South Florida, saw the flipped Nissan SUV along U.S. 27 outside of Clewiston about 8:30 p.m. Sunday.

She was likely saved by the quick actions of Hollywood Hills junior Jared Maldonado, who revived the unresponsive woman with CPR, a skill he learned in school as a ninth-grader.

''At a time like that, it's like not even being in your own body,'' Maldonado said. ``One moment, we're riding back and talking about the two days at USF, and the next thing you know is that you are trying to save lives.''

Maldonado was traveling with Barnwell and teammates Alvin Arnold, Clarence Murphy and Anthony Yerou on a dark, rainy stretch of U.S. 27 when came upon the accident.

Along with the man who had flagged them down -- he was another passerby who stopped when he discovered the wreck -- the team began ripping apart the SUV to get to the victims.

Minutes before, Bryan had been in the northbound lanes of U.S. 27 with her husband, James Bryan, 56, and their 2-year-old granddaughter, whose name has not been released by the Hendry County Sheriff's Office.

Apparently driving too fast, the SUV hit standing water, slid off the highway and flipped, trapping the passengers.

When the team discovered the wreck, the water inside the vehicle was already four feet deep and rising, Barnwell said.

The group had to first rip the door from its hinges, and then pulled out the little girl, who was secured in a car seat in the back. They got James Bryan out quickly, but his wife's rescue was difficult.

She was trapped, under water and not breathing. Another passing motorist, Waddy Thompson, of LaBelle, cut the seat belt away and the group pulled her free.

''My heart sunk,'' Barnwell said. ``She was gone. I couldn't hear her breathing, but I still felt there was hope if we got her out and up on the banks fast enough.''

After the players grabbed Juanita Bryan and dragged her to shore, Maldonado began CPR. It was dark and tough to see her face, so the junior lineman relied on his training.

''At first, I was shocked and overwhelmed by seeing what I thought was a dead body,'' said Maldonado, an offensive lineman. ``I had taken CPR in the ninth grade, but never thought I would use it -- not like this.''

Maldonado pushed in sets of 30 chest compressions. During the second set, he saw the woman move, and by the third set, she was making noise and spitting up water. Medics later airlifted her to Lee Memorial Hospital.

Barnwell was a one-time police officer in Miami-Dade County, so he had seen similar situations before. Still, when he had a chance to gather his thoughts, he was struck by how the four young men instinctively sprang into action.

''I am so proud of these young men for the way they never hesitated to save a life,'' Barnwell said. ``To me, Clarence, Alvin, Anthony and Jared are heroes and examples of what this generation holds.''

Great act by these kids and there coach! Unfortunately since this story wont help the "World-wide leader" sell ad revenue, or promote Baby Jesus Tebow, the world will porbably never hear of this heroic act....