Key Points

• After historic flooding in southern Illinois, Robinson refinery employee Joe Cunningham discovered a man trapped inside a truck overtaken by rising floodwaters.
• Cunningham called a nearby friend to assist with the rescue, but when both men were swept underwater, that friend also ended up needing to be saved.
• Without hesitation, Cunningham dove into the fast-moving water, resurfaced with both men and is credited with saving their lives.

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What has been described as historic flooding in Lawrence County, Illinois, in April led Joe Cunningham to go check on oil wells he leases and manages in the area. On that day, six inches of rain pummeled the area, leaving roads impassable, including one that led to one of his wells. Cunningham and his wife spotted something alarming: flashing lights from a red truck that had been swept into a nearby ditch by the floodwaters. The driver, an older man, was still inside and clearly trapped.

“We got as close as we could in my truck, but the water was too high and moving so fast,” Cunningham said.

Cunningham is a refining project coordinator at Marathon Petroleum’s Robinson refinery. He knew he couldn’t reach the trapped man on his own. And with how rural the area was, waiting on 911 might not bring help fast enough. He called his close friend Steele Lytle.

“He lived not far from where we were, and I knew he had a side-by-side off-road vehicle,” Cunningham said. “He’s the kind of guy who would answer the call. And he did almost immediately.”

Within minutes, Lytle arrived with his side-by-side, often referred to as a UTV (Utility Task Vehicle). But as he got closer to the flooded truck, something stopped him in his tracks.

“He couldn’t believe it,” Cunningham said. “Right away he recognized the truck, and then he said, ‘That’s my wife’s grandfather inside.’ He just went into overdrive at that point.”

They managed to reach the truck, which by then had mostly filled with water. But as they started pulling the man out, both Lytle and the driver were suddenly swept away and disappeared in the water.

“It just took them, so I just dove off the side-by-side and let the current push me toward the truck,” Cunningham said. “It’s kind of a blur now, almost like I blacked out in that moment.”

He said what he can recall from those moments that felt a lot longer was that he didn’t care about anything else at that point but finding them.

“I just started throwing my arms around in every direction, and all of a sudden I got hold of the man’s arm, and I never let go,” he said.

Miraculously, the fast-moving current lodged the men against the front of one of the truck’s rear tires, which Cunningham called a miracle, considering how the area where two small creeks merge had quickly turned into a raging river.

“I don’t know how, but we found just enough strength to get him and ourselves onto the bed of the truck, then to the top,” Cunningham said. “We caught our breath for a minute, then climbed over the truck and made our way onto the side-by-side.”

They made it back to dry land and out of danger, where Cunningham’s wife was eagerly waiting, now with several others who had gathered. She had seen the entire event unfold, including the moment her husband also disappeared under the water. But that fear quickly turned to relief when he reappeared, arms locked with both men.

“From the time I left our truck until all three of us made it back okay, I don’t think her adrenaline let up,” Cunningham said. “And I think it took all of us more than a moment to fully process what had just happened.”

She wasn’t the only one feeling grateful and crediting her husband with saving not one but two lives that day.

“A huge thank you to Joe and Steele, who in the beginning both set aside their personal safety for what they thought was a complete stranger,” said Beth Heath, the daughter of the man rescued. “My husband showed up around the time they all went under, and he told me in that moment he thought he was about to helplessly watch three people drown.”

“We couldn’t be more thankful. And to Joe, we truly can’t thank you enough. The world is a better place with you in it.”

Heath said her father, who is in his late 70s, had recently moved to the area from near Chicago to be closer to family and is recovering well and thankful to be alive. He was unfamiliar with the roads and trying to get back from his new favorite breakfast spot when floodwaters swept his truck off the road.

“We couldn’t be more thankful. And to Joe, we truly can’t thank you enough,” Heath said. “The world is a better place with you in it.”

Cunningham chalked it all up to being in the right place at the right time, which may be one part of the story, but it leaves out the part about him saving lives. Described by his coworkers at the Robinson refinery as humble and hardworking, he recently celebrated 25 years with the company. So while the events of that day may have come as a shock to those he’s worked with for many years, the selflessness he showed did not.

“Wow. We are so, so proud of Joe,” said Amy Macak, Vice President of Refining at the Robinson refinery. “His courage, quick action and willingness to help others truly represent the best of who we are.”