Two Kissimmee children are recovering in a hospital and they are alive thanks to a few good men -- men who are News 13's Central Floridians of the week.
On Oct. 17, the children were critically injured when their mother's van veered off a road and into a pond near Disney. But as News 13's Lisa Bell explains, some good Samaritans jumped into the water and rescued them.
Niomy Rivera, 3, and Derek Rivera, 1, are in critical condition, but they're alive thanks to these men. Their mother, Emarie Otero, a friend, and her eldest son, 6-year-old Ivan Rivera, were also in the crash. They were not hurt and they all owe their lives to the good Samaritans.
Disney security guards Eddie Vignati and Ed Matatall chalk their roles up to destiny. Both men were running four minutes late to work and, reacting on the training they've received as security guards, they ran to help.
"We are ordinary people. We just care about other people," Vignati said.
Matatall called 911 while Vignati jumped in.
"I just went in and felt the baby's head and I'm moving its head back and forth, and then I came back up for air. I went back down and released the seatbelt and I had to come back up again and I was taking in water," Vignati said.
But, even though the van was about to roll on top of him, Vignati was able to grab a child and the child over to Mattatal who performed CPR.
"I got real emotional especially when I was pushing all the water out of the infant's lungs and stomach.," Matatall said.
Meanwhile, another passerby, Elliot Ramos, was also making rescues. Holding his breath, he used a knife, cut the car's seatbelts and pulled two children to safety.
"When they came out of the water, we pulled them out. Their lips were purple and they weren't reacting and two gentlemen were performing CPR on them," Ramos said.
It was the men's split-second, selfless acts that saved an entire family and makes them our Central Floridians of the Week.