A GPS glitch sent a man driving home to Alabama down the wrong road south of Lyerly, Georgia, just before midnight on Saturday, October 17 — and that mistake may have saved 14 lives. The man, known to the family only as Mr. Casey, spotted a house engulfed in flames along Highway 114 and rushed in to wake everyone inside before the fire could trap them.
Inside that home were James Burke, his wife Larita, 11 children and one grandchild, all asleep when the fire broke out, according to local3news.com. Casey, who was traveling with his son, had been led astray by his navigation system. “He was on the wrong road. His GPS put him on the wrong path,” the outlet reported, describing how the detour put him in front of the burning house at exactly the right moment.
A Stranger Rushes Into the Flames
Rather than keep driving, Casey went into the home to alert James Burke and help get everyone out. The same report states that Casey helped pull all 12 children from the burning home to safety and also helped guide firefighters to the scene once they arrived. Every member of the household made it out alive.
Larita Burke later described just how narrow the escape was. “If it had been another five minutes, it would’ve been a different situation. We wouldn’t have made it,” she said, in an account carried by kktv.com. As reported by WBRC 6 News, the wrong turn that put Casey on that stretch of Highway 114 may have ended up saving all 14 lives inside the house that night.
Home Destroyed, Cause Still Unclear
By the time the fire was out, the Burkes’ house was gone. The home is a total loss, per the same local3news.com account, leaving the family of 14 without a place to live. The Chattooga Sheriff’s Office said the cause is still under investigation, and no determination has been made public.
A Family Known for Fostering Children
The Burkes aren’t new to opening their doors to kids in need. The family said they have welcomed more than 500 children into their home over 15 years as foster parents, according to the same report. Despite losing their house, the couple said they hope to continue fostering once their home is rebuilt, per the kktv.com account.
For now, the family is left piecing together what comes next, grateful that a stranger’s wrong turn turned into the right outcome. The specifics of how or when rebuilding might begin have not been detailed publicly.
