'Heroes': Good Samaritan couple celebrating 30th anniversary in Florida pull drivers out of fiery wreck

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WALTON COUNTY, Fla. - It was a case of being in the right place at the right time for a couple from Alabama celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary in North Florida over the weekend.

The Caldwells of Geneva, Alabama, were heading back home from Destin when a car sped past them and ultimately wound up in a head-on collision on County Highway 185, according to the Walton County Sheriff's Office.

Photo: Walton County Sheriffs Office

"What felt like seconds later, the couple came upon the wreckage of what appeared to be a crash. A head-on collision. Smoke began billowing from one of the vehicles involved," the sheriff's office wrote on Facebook. "Mr. Cardwell told his wife to call 911 and immediately recognized the car catching fire as the one who passed them moments before."

Mr. Caldwell, whose first name was not revealed in the Facebook post, pulled the driver from the one car as it became engulfed in flames, and also ran to help the driver of the other vehicle who was pinned inside, deputies said. First responders arrived shortly after and helped free the second driver.

Deputies said had the Caldwells not stopped to help, that driver might have died in the fire.

"May this be a reminder to all of us, to remember how precious life is. To slow down. Don't take it for granted. It can end in an instant," the Walton County Sheriff's Office said.