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An Instacart driver recently broke protocol by going inside an elderly customer’s house to help put away the groceries she was delivering – and ended up saving the life of the customer.

The driver, Jessica Higgs, is receiving accolades for her conduct, breaking the rules and following her instincts. Higgs herself told the story in an emotional clip on TikTok, relating the events of that fateful delivery.

It began when Higgs received an order from a woman on behalf of her elderly father, who was unable to go and do his own grocery shopping.

Higgs related what happened next during her tearful monologue in her car: “I’m going the extra mile for this customer like I always do, but for whatever reason, this time I was going even further in checking the back and everything.”

@jessicahiggs3 @Instacart #28DaysOfEucerin #fyp ♬ original sound – Jessica Higgs

While the daughter had simply said to leave the food on the porch, which was in keeping with Instacart policy, Higgs felt the pull of something else, urging her to break with policy.

“Something was telling me, ‘No, you gotta help this man out.’ But I used my judgment and I brought the groceries inside and I put them down wherever he wanted me to put them, and you’re not supposed to but I did. You’re just supposed to take a picture and leave. And I could not just leave,” she recounted.

When she got inside, Higgs realized something was off, noticing the man’s unhealthy pallor. Higgs decided to contact the daughter and speak up.

“I got to message the lady because I was very concerned for her dad that he just looked sick and I didn’t know what to do. So I messaged her and I said, ‘If I say that the order is complete, I won’t be able to message you and I want to tell you this.’”

The issue was apparent to Higgs fairly quickly. Inside the house, Higgs began to get a little dizzy, and she soon saw why: there was a propane tank, and it didn’t take a rocket scientist to realize there might be a leak. “I was in there maybe five feet and I got dizzy. And I said there’s got to be a leak,” Higgs recalled.

The daughter responded by sending her son out to the house, and promptly changed the tip amount for the order from $14 to $100. More than that, though, Higgs received an emotional text from the daughter pouring out her gratitude:

“Thank you so much, once my son went to check on my dad it turned out it definitely was leaking, you definitely saved my dad and my younger son’s life!!!”

The video quickly went viral on TikTok, gathering 3 million views as of Friday morning, and 155,000 comments. One of the comments was by famous model Bella Hadid, who chimed in praise Higgs:

“You are not ‘just an insta cart worker’!!!!!! U R helping people every single day in ways u probably don’t even know. Thank U for being U!!!!!!!”

WTSP Tampa Bay reported that Instacart had released a statement on the subject:

“We are constantly inspired by the incredible people who choose to be Instacart shoppers and intentionally make a positive impact in the lives of others. This story touched our hearts and we are grateful for shoppers like Jessica.”

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