NORTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - A man and a woman were taken to the hospital after their SUV plunged into a canal in Northwest Miami-Dade, and crews received crucial assistance from a quick-thinking good Samaritan.
Miami-Dade Police and Fire Rescue units responded to the scene near West Okeechobee Road and Northwest 118th Avenue, Saturday morning.
Speaking through a translator, good Samaritan Roberto Gonzalez said he did his best to save the driver and passenger inside the vehicle when he arrived at the scene moments after the crash.
“I saw the woman, and I thought of my mom. That was it; I had to help her,” he said.
Gonzalez said he attempted to reach the pair trapped inside the car.
“I left my personal items and jumped in. I was able to rescue a woman, but by the time I helped her get to safety, I looked, and the vehicle was already underwater, and I couldn’t go back for the man,” said Gonzalez.
MDFR Lt. Omar Vega said divers were able to pull the male victim from the canal.
“When we arrived here, there were victims on the embankment. A good Samaritan stopped and pulled the first victim out,” he said. “Within eight minutes of the call, we had the divers in the water, and they pulled a second victim out, who went to a local hospital.”
Video from Only in Dade captured the car as it was pulled from the canal.
The victims were checked for injuries and transported to a local hospital. The man is listed in critical condition, and the woman is listed in stable condition.
It remains unknown what caused the SUV to go into the canal.
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