Acts of Kindness
Hero leaps into action when suicidal dad drives himself and daughters off a cliff
This could have ended up so much worse.
Khadjia Bilal
06.25.20

Mental health is such a serious issue, and there are so many things that can lead to depression, anxiety, stress, and even suicidal thoughts, but however bad the situation gets, ending one’s life is never the answer, and there are always ways you can find help and start getting better.

Sadly, one desperate dad saw no other way out and planned to drive off a cliff, taking his two year old twin daugters with him.

Dramatic security camera footage captured the moment the car flew off the cliff, but thanks to the quick reactions of rescue workers and one police officer in particular, the girls and father were eventually saved.

YouTube Screenshot
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YouTube Screenshot

The story begins with Robert Brians, whose suicidal thoughts got the best of him. But not only did he decide to take his own life one night, he also planned to kill his two young daughters in the process.

Brians’ wife was shocked when she woke up in the early hours of the morning to a call from her husband, telling her that he’d taken the girls and he was threatening to drive into the sea.

YouTube Screenshot
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YouTube Screenshot

The panicked mom immediately called the cops, who were able to track down her husband’s phone to a cliffside location and quickly send rescue teams out to the spot.

Unfortunately, the rescue teams were too late to prevent Brians driving right off the cliff at a speed of up to 70mph, with his twin toddlers in the back seat.

YouTube Screenshot
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YouTube Screenshot

One of the first cops on the scene was Officer Jonathan Wiese of the San Diego Police Department.

Thinking fast, Officer Wiese looked down over the edge of the cliff into the floating wreckage of the vehicle below and didn’t even think twice about descending!

He grabbed a dog leash, usually used for his K-9 unit, and asked some other officers to help him rappel down to the car.

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YouTube Screenshot

As he looked down, Officer Wiese spotted Brians holding his two daughters in his arms.

All three occupants of the vehicle were still alive, with Brians treading water and trying to keep himself and his children afloat.

Thankfully, Wiese and other rescuers were able to get them all out of the water, airlifting the dad to safety and taking the girls into the care of the paramedics to check them over for any serious injuries.

YouTube Screenshot
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YouTube Screenshot

Only a week before this shocking event, Brians had been posting photos of himself and his girls on Instagram, writing loving captions and seeming like the happiest man on Earth, but deep down, it seems like there was a much darker side to his life.

He owned a company that had recently filed for bankruptcy, his wife had filed for divorce, and he’d also been arrested for domestic battery earlier this year.

His poor little girls will need a lot of time, love, and care to ever recover from this terrible incident, but at least they made it out safely and won’t be at risk again, as their clearly troubled father will most likely be spending serious time behind bars, facing charges of both kidnapping and attempted murder.

Watch the video below to learn more about how it all happened.

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