It’s like a scene from a superhero movie—in May of 2021, cameras caught a woman being crushed to death in Virginia when this deputy sheriff lifts a car off of her.
How the Heroic Sheriff Lifts a Car
Deputy Sheriff, Jon Holt is strong and all, but strong enough to lift a car? Your first reaction is probably doubtful, but he really did it. Here’s what happened:
On Mother’s Day weekend of 2021, Deputy Sheriff Jon Holt was on duty in Gloucester County, Virginia, and he had just responded to a call and was headed back to headquarters when he came upon a terrible crash. An SUV was upside-down on the wrong side of the road. The vehicle had reportedly lost control, swerved onto the opposite side of the road and crashed.
Holt responded immediately and found that a woman’s head was trapped under the flipped SUV where the sunroof was. The woman’s children were nearby and was sobbing and had begun to panic.
Holt said, “I see the female laying with her head pinned underneath the vehicle.”
He explains that the other couldn’t breathe so he knew he had to do something immediately. “You can’t let a child see their mom pass away,” he explained, sharing he wanted to demonstrate bravery to the panicking children.
Holt said, “I have to be that reassuring figure, even though inside I’m frantically figuring out what I need to do.”
So what does he do? Holt’s bodycam shows him trying to lift the 4,000-pound SUV, and it didn’t work at first.
Watch the footage here:
Holt runs to the car and asks the crying daughter, “Is she under it?”
The child screams, “Yes!”
In the midst of trying to help, the woman’s frantic son is nearby screaming. Holt calmly has the boy move back, and then something amazing happens. “Come here. Come here, buddy!” Holt says to the son.
Holt reports that he felt it was unacceptable that he couldn’t lift it the first time.
He says, “At that point, I put my shoulder into the door frame and all I’m thinking to myself is ‘I just have to stand up.” And right there the sheriff lifts a car off the mother who is being crushed.
The video audio captures Holt grunting as he lifts the vehicle.
As you can hear in the video, the woman begins gasping for air, and he asks her if she can move or slide out of the way. Thankfully, the woman was able to get out from under the SUV.
Strangely the woman only had some bleeding and minor injuries. But who knows what would have happened if he hadn’t been there right at that time and taken the step to lift the car?
The family reported that their dog was also in the vehicle at the time of the crash and ran off, but were thankful that he was returned to him the next day, as well.
Reactions to Holt’s Heroism
News channels from all over posted the camera footage. Even the China State Controlled Media shared the video on Facebook.
Thousands of views and comments have inspired people all around the world.
One commenter said, “Thank you Deputy Holt! May God embrace and protect you brave officer.”
And yes, when the sheriff lifts a car to save the woman, it’s definitely brave, but some might say it’s miraculous and he had to have God’s help with this feat.
While Holt says, “I’m no hero. I’m just an average cop that gets put in extraordinary situations,” one has to wonder if God’s placing him in these situations at the right time, just as he did when he coincidentally came across the woman being crushed, and the sheriff lifts a car off the woman because it’s not the only time he’s done something this heroic.
One time Holt also rescued two people—a woman and her child—by entering a burning building and bringing them out. The year previous to that, Holt saved a VDOT worker by using CPR in an emergency situation.
Before this incident, Deputy Jon Holt had already been awarded for several heroic acts. He was named Top Cop of 2020 by local and regional police officer units.
Even Holt recognizes there might be something supernatural going on with his acts of heroism. He reportedly has said that he thinks he may have a guardian angel working with him.
