Top good Samaritan moments of 2023
These good Samaritans saved people from burning cars, oncoming trains, violent criminals and other threats
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Have escalating crime rates nationwide shaken your faith in humanity?
These daring rescues and split-second assists caught on camera prove that, despite the constant barrage of grisly headlines, human kindness is in no short supply.
Here are some of the year's most heroic acts, showing good Samaritans braving flames, risking their lives and tapping into unthinkable reserves of athleticism to help strangers.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Man pulls driver from burning car in Florida
The daring rescue of a drunken driver whose car burst into flames after a crash was captured on film by a Florida bystander in September.
The driver reportedly lost control of his vehicle, hit a telephone pole and then slammed into a Seminole consignment boutique around 3:30 a.m. Sept. 10, FOX 13 Tampa Bay reported.
Travis Dupont, who was on his way home from work, pulled over just in time to pull the man from the vehicle.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}GOOD SAMARITAN PULLS FLORIDA MAN FROM BURNING CAR
"If I had been like even 30 seconds too late, he would have been in those flames," Dupont told the outlet.
"Maybe 20-30 seconds, the whole car was engulfed in flames," bystander Stephanie Turow said. "It makes me want to cry now just because it was very scary, very scary moment. And yeah, he's very, very lucky to be alive."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Karate instructors thwart would-be carjackers in California
Two California karate instructors thwarted a would-be carjacking in August, running after the suspects and busting their car's windows with wooden sticks to scare them off.
The Aug. 14 incident on Piedmont Avenue in Oakland was captured on surveillance footage obtained by FOX KTVU.
Before the martial arts experts come to his aid, the driver can be seen crossing the street to return to his vehicle. But before he gets to the parked car, two masked and hooded men can be seen driving up, jumping out of their vehicle and snatching the man's car key.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The two instructors then race across the street to bash the windshield of the suspects' car with their wooden sticks.
The two would-be thieves then jump back into their damaged car and take off without stealing the victim's vehicle.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}It is unclear whether an arrest was made after the attempted carjacking.
Good Samaritans rescue baby trapped in car
A dramatic TikTok video, posted in July, showed concerned civilians helping a distressed Texas father save his baby from his accidentally locked vehicle.
The man can be seen bashing the front windshield with a tire iron as onlookers gather around him. The video then cuts to show an unidentified person handing the child to the relieved man through a large hole in the glass.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Sgt. Larry Moore of the Harlingen Police Department told local outlet MySA that the incident happened around 10:30 a.m. July 19 at a H-E-B gas station. The officer told the outlet that the parents had unwittingly left their keys in their car, leaving their baby trapped.
Onlookers push family out of train's path
A train enthusiast was shocked to see onlookers help a mother push her car out of the path of an oncoming train in October while watching a livestream of the Kentucky rail crossing.
Virtual Railfan, a company that sets up live video feeds of train crossings throughout the country, captured the incident in La Grange around 9 a.m. Oct. 11.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The family's white SUV can be seen puttering out right on the tracks at the intersection of Main and First streets – a woman and children can be seen getting out of the car and panicking as the train approaches.
GOOD SAMARITANS JUMP INTO ACTION AS TRAIN BARRELS TOWARD SUV ON TRACKS: VIDEO
One child bolts from the vehicle, and the woman can be heard yelling, "Get back in the car" as she tries to push the vehicle by herself.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}As she screams for help, two good Samaritans appear and help the woman push the car out of harm's way.
The train does manage to stop just feet from where the vehicle stalled, and it appears no one was harmed in the incident.
Man uses leaf blower to rescue neighbor from knife-wielding husband
When his bleeding neighbor ran to his house screaming that her husband was trying to kill her, a Connecticut homeowner used his gardening equipment to diffuse the deadly confrontation.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Milford Police responded to reports of a stabbing on Greer Circle on Nov. 25, they wrote in an affidavit obtained by Fox News Digital. Kevin Conway, 66, reportedly stabbed his wife of 25 years.
After running down the street for help, the woman hid behind her neighbor as Conway allegedly ran toward them with three knives.
GOOD SAMARITAN RESCUES NEIGHBOR FROM KNIFE-WIELDING HUSBAND USING LEAF BLOWER: POLICE
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The neighbor repeatedly asked the man to drop the knives – but the suspect refused, saying "she was going to die, and he was going to die," police wrote. A second neighbor reportedly heard the crazed man exclaim, "You don't understand – this woman has screwed up my life three ways to Sunday."
Finally, the neighbor "struck Kevin Conway in the head with a leaf blower," police wrote, causing the husband to fall to the ground.
Both the woman and her husband were transported to a hospital – the woman had stab wounds in her upper torso and chest area, while the man's injuries were "grave in nature," police wrote.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Conway was charged with first-degree assault, attempted murder, violation of a protective order and second-degree threatening in connection with the attack. In March of this year, he had been arrested for "assaulting and biting [his wife] in the leg."
Man saves baby rolling toward California traffic
A good Samaritan's quick reflexes were showcased in a dramatic security video taken at a Southern California car wash in May.
A woman, later identified as the baby's great aunt by NBC Los Angeles, can be seen doing something in the back of her car at the outset of the viral footage.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}It was a windy day in Hesperia, evidenced by debris blowing in the background – the stroller can be seen beginning to roll toward the street.
VIDEO SHOWS MOMENT BABY IN STROLLER ROLLING TOWARD TRAFFIC IS SAVED BY GOOD SAMARITAN
The woman moves to grab the runaway stroller before losing her footing, falling flat on the ground and struggling to get up.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}But just as the stroller reaches the edge of the street, a man sprints into the frame and stops it in its tracks. Another man helps the woman get up from the ground – the outlet reported that she suffered injuries to her knees in the fall.
Utah high school students lift car off of trapped mother and children
A group of about 20 Utah high school students banded together to lift a car off a pinned mother and 2-year-old boy earlier this month, USA Today reported.
After they were struck and pinned by the car, one of the women's two children – a 3-year-old girl – was quickly able to free herself. But her mother and brother remained trapped, per the outlet.
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The Layton Christian Academy students rushed onto the scene and managed to lift the car about two inches off the ground, allowing the trapped family to be pulled out safely, footage of the Dec. 5 incident showed.
Fox News Digital's Julia Bonavita contributed to this report.