“If you see something, say something.” That mindset is what saved the lives of two people, all thanks to Jessica Higgs — an Instacart delivery driver who listened to her intuition.
In an emotional video shared on her TikTik account back in February, Higgs explained that while she was delivering groceries to an elderly man’s porch — an order that was placed by his daughter — something didn’t feel right.
“I get there and something was telling me, ‘No, you gotta help this man out,’” she tearfully recalled on the social media platform. “And he came out and I was like, ‘Okay, well let me help you.’”
Though Higgs said that Instacart workers aren’t supposed to enter a customer’s residence, she used her “judgment” and proceeded to bring the groceries inside for the man, whom she noticed looked ill.
“If you see something, say something.”
“You’re just supposed to take a picture [of the order] and leave. And I could not just leave,” she shared.
In what turned out to be a life-saving message, a “very concerned” Higgs informed the man’s daughter about a possible propane leak in the house.
“I was in there maybe five feet and I got dizzy,” Higgs told the woman. “There’s got to be a leak … and he might not be doing good because of this leak.”
Propane, a colorless, odorless, and flammable gas, is a dangerous fire hazard. If someone is exposed to high concentrations of propane, it will displace oxygen in the lungs, making it difficult to breathe. Symptoms of propane inhalation include dizziness, nausea, headaches, and coughing; if significantly exposed, people can experience convulsions, asphyxiation, and even heart failure.
Because she chose to go with her gut and speak up, Higgs helped prevent a potentially fatal outcome. Sharing a photo of the message she later received from the woman, Higgs was told her suspicions were correct: a leak had been coming from the propane tank.
“You definitely saved my dad and my younger son’s life,” commented the woman, who changed Higgs’ tip from $14 to $100. A selfless decision to go above and beyond now has Higgs being hailed a hero by the world.