It happened on a quiet Tuesday morning in Mesa, Arizona, but it could have ended much worse. Devon Haycock was in the driveway using two jacks to lift his wife’s Honda Civic. He was making repairs when one of the jacks, a scissor lift, failed. The car dropped straight down, pinning his face to the ground and crushing his chest.

“I could see my wife the whole time panicking,” Devon said. “It was awful, the whole time just saying I love you. It’s okay. I love you. I’m fine.”

Even with a car pressing down on him, his instinct was to keep her calm. His wife, Kaylin, called 911. Within five minutes, Officers Josh Gardner and Nolan Martineau arrived at the home near Mesa Drive and 2nd Avenue. They quickly realized using a jack again was out of the question.

“Officer Gardner said we should try to pick up the car so we just went for it,” Martineau said.

They went for it.

Two officers and a neighbor lifted the car, which weighed nearly 3,000 pounds

Martineau’s body camera captured the moment they raised the Honda Civic just enough.

“When I heard ‘Okay, we’re going to lift it up’ that’s when my vision started to go blurry,” Devon said. “When they lifted it up I slid right out the second I started to see the light from underneath the car.”

He made it out. No major injuries. The whole rescue took less than 10 minutes.

This incident happened back in 2020, when Devon and Kaylin were expecting a baby girl. “I’m very thankful for those two officers,” Devon told 12News.

Why this story matters for every mechanic and weekend wrencher

Devon’s story is a powerful reminder. Floor jacks are only as safe as the precautions behind them. Remember that scissor and hydraulic jacks are for lifting, not holding. Jack stands are better, but they, too, can fail. Especially if they’re cheap, old, sitting on uneven ground, or not rated for your vehicle’s weight.

If you’re working underneath a vehicle, don’t rely on just one method of support. Here’s how to stay safer:

Use quality jack stands rated for more than your vehicle’s weight. And place them on solid, level ground. Avoid asphalt on hot days, since it can soften.

Chock the wheels that stay on the ground to prevent rolling. Brakes help, but they’re not a guarantee.

Keep a secondary backup like a spare tire, wooden blocks, or ramps nearby. Slide them under a strong part of the frame or suspension as a failsafe.

Give the car a shake after setting it down on stands. If it wobbles, reset everything.

Never trust a hydraulic jack alone to hold a car while you’re underneath it. They can bleed pressure slowly or catastrophically.

Professional mechanics often go further. Some use jack stand locking pins. Some drop the car just slightly onto stacked hardwood cribbing or purpose-built safety blocks.

Devon got incredibly lucky. Others haven’t. So take the extra two minutes. And if you don’t have the proper equipment to keep yourself safe, believe me, your family would rather see you take a car to a pro than watch you get fatally pinned under one.