Earlier this year, in January, the former RB was spending the day at the beach with his family. He explains that the wind was strong but thought nothing of it, as he saw no red flags on the beach. Then, he sees his son and niece waving their hands and being pulled back by the water. They were in danger, so Hillis ran in and swam to save them. He was able to save them both, but had to make a hard decision:
After saving both of the kids, Hillis lost consciousness on the shore, as his lungs and kidneys gave out. He ended up in the hospital on a ventilator, and woke up 10 days later. He spent 2 weeks in the ICU after waking up.