In a reunion that was never supposed to happen, a family is meeting with a San Jose firefighter who saved their lives.
On Sept. 1, Antonio Lopez and his family happened to be driving by when they noticed a truck was hit on Highway 101 in Morgan Hill and ended up in a canal, taking on water and with a family trapped inside.
Lopez, who was off duty at the time, saw what had happened. He and his brother, a firefighter in Peru, jumped into the murky waters.
"I found the arm of the baby, so somehow there was another child. Both of them were unconscious," Lopez said.
The victim's vehicle was traveling at the speed of traffic, so the victims not only survived the impact from that crash but also several minutes in the water.
Images from the scene showed a truck with an entire family inside and submerged in a canal filled with water off Highway 101.
"I have another chance with them to do things differently than I used to. I have noticed that I have more patience with them. It's like another life," said Yamilex Ibarra, one of the victims rescued from the canal.
Lopez and his brother first saved the mother before diving in to save the father and children.
By that time, on-duty and off-duty CHP officers joined the rescue, as did Morgan Hill police officers.
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On the berm, at least two nurses and a surgeon, who also just happened to be driving by, performed CPR on the unconscious children.
Lopez then went back in with CHP to get the unconscious father.
"Just beyond grateful to have another opportunity in life, thanks to everybody that helped out," said Jose Ibarra.
At the reunion, the family thanked Lopez. He seemingly shrugged off the here title and said it was his training that kicked in.
"We are all heroes," Lopez said.
Lopez treated the Ibarras to a ride on a decommissioned fire truck and exchanged smiles and happy faces.
The two families are now attached for life all because of the miracle on the 101.
