It all happened earlier this month in Pensacola Beach, where the former NFL star was enjoying some sun and sand with his extended family, including his mom, sisters, children and girlfriend.
There is new bodycam footage showing the moment first responders rushed onto a Florida beach and successfully saved the life of Peyton Hillis.
It all happened earlier this month in Pensacola Beach, where the former NFL star was enjoying some sun and sand with his extended family, including his mom, sisters, children and girlfriend.
Hillis' son and daughter had been out swimming in the ocean when a rip tide quickly dragged the two far from the beach.
The former running back, who played football for teams including the New York Giants, Cleveland Browns, and Kansas City Chiefs during his 7-year career, immediately swam out to rescue the two.
"There are a bunch of people getting swept out to the ocean," said a bystander in audio from the call to 911 that was obtained by Inside Edition. Some kids got sucked in. I think their dad went in after them."
Hillis did just that, and soon he too got caught up in that same riptide. He eventually reached the children and managed to get both safely back to the shore.
That is when things started to go wrong. Hillis struggled to breathe, and in the bodycam footage captured by a deputy with the Escambia County Sheriff’s office, he can been seen and heard gasping for air.
First responders quickly got to work once on the scene, and did their best to stabilize Hillis before he was airlifted to the hospital,
In the video they can be seen checking his vitals and administering an IV. At one point, Hillis asks for water.
Hillis was eventually stable enough to be airlifted off the beach to the hospital.
The athlete, who just turned 37 this weekend, was admitted in critical condition and placed on a ventilator. Two weeks later though, his recovery had progressed enough that he was discharged from the hospital.
"The amount of love and gratitude I have for the incredible team that took care of Peyton is indescribable," wrote Hillis' girlfriend, Angela Cole, on Instagram last week. " I can't express this enough when I say this, thank you for making all the difference in our lives. I'll never be able to thank you enough! And a huge thank you again for all of your prayers, love and support… God heard. And He answered."
