The cameras were rolling for these tense moments.
Some of the most heart-stopping events of 2016, ranging from extreme danger to valiant heroism, happened to be caught on video.
In August, a group of Maryland citizens banded together and formed a human chain to save a woman trapped in a car that was caught in a flash flood.
Read: The Police Officers Who Weren't Shy to Bust a Move This Year
There was also a "caught on camera" moment of complete strangers who came together to overturn a car that had flipped with the driver stuck inside. The good Samaritans heaved the car over and the driver was brought to safety.
Last month, surveillance cameras recorded a 9-year-old hero who caught his 11-month old baby brother in what could have been a catastrophic four-foot-fall from a changing table.
Devastation was also widely caught on video this year, from tornados in the Midwest that brought down a Starbucks store in August to the fires that raged in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, last month.
The world also witnessed some crazy video from the animal kingdom.
A tiger trainer was dragged through the cage in front of shocked children attending a fair in Pensacola, Florida, in October.
The trainer's fiancé ran inside the cage and began hitting the tiger with a whip to force the beast to release her. Fortunately, tragedy was averted — the tiger let the trainer go.
In February, Arizona Senator Jeff Flake was in Africa investigating the poaching of elephants for their tusks and filmed a heard coming for his vehicle. He and the tour group he was traveling with were able to escape by the skin of their teeth.
Read: 9 Selfless Kids Who Went Out of Their Way to Help Others This Year
There were also nail-biting moments like the terrifying carjacking of a 24-year-old Atlanta woman in May.
She fought back to no avail, as the carjackers made off with her car.
A terrified civilian in her twenties was on a ride along with a rookie cop in October when a routine traffic stop took an unexpected turn and they were shot at.
As the fleeing driver blew through two stop signs, the assailants began shooting at the officer after refusing to pull over.
Watch: Would You Know What to Do? Deputy Saves Baby With Infant CPR Technique
