Atlanta Weatherman Interrupts Live Broadcast to Save Woman from Helene Flooding

It is journalistic canon that reporters should never become part of a news story, but sometimes in life or death crises their humanity leaves them no choice. 

Atlanta-based Fox News weatherman Bob Van Dillen understood this when he jumped into rising floodwaters to pull a mother of five children out of her car during Hurricane Helene. The woman had just gotten off the graveyard shift at work. She'd driven into high water as the storm swept over the city.

Van Dillen at that moment was reporting live from near Peachtree Creek in Buckhead. It's one of Atlanta’s most flood-prone areas. Van Dillen saw the car and heard the woman yelling right before going live. He called 911 at once. When she kept yelling, Van Dillen said on-air that he was briefly suspending the broadcast.

“It’s a situation," Van Dillen told Fox and Friends. "We’ll get back to you in a little bit. I’m going to see if I can help this lady out a little bit more, you guys.”

Van Dillen’s cameraman filmed him wading into chest-deep water to reach the woman. When he arrived, he realized how dire her situation was. She was still buckled in her seat with water almost up to her neck. Van Dillen pulled her out. He then carried her on his back to safety. 

When they were both out of danger, Van Dillen gave the woman a spare dry shirt. When her husband arrived, he hugged Van Dillen on live TV.

“Thank you so much,” he told Van Dillen.

“Any time,” Van Dillen replied. “I’d do it again.”

Reflect: What do you think motivates people to step in and help others during emergencies, even when it might be risky?

Photo of Fox News weatherman Bob Van Dillen from Instagram courtesy of @bobvandillenhln.