FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - Good Samaritans raced to the rescue of a driver after she plunged into a canal in Fort Lauderdale.
Surveillance video shows the moment that the victim’s white Honda Civic splashed into the water in the area of Northeast 68th Street, off 20th Terrace, Saturday morning.
Fortunately for the driver, there was a boat a two bystanders nearby at the moment of impact.
“Get out of the car!” a man is heard saying in the video.
Mark Goodman said he immediately jumped into the canal to render aid.
“I threw my phone and other things on the grass and just said, ‘I’ve got to go in and try help,’ so I did that,” he said. “At the same time, luckily, a boat was coming by, and so there were four of us altogether.”
Goodman said he and his wife were on their regular walk when they saw the sedan speed down 68th Street and slam into the water.
“Her window started rolling down, and I asked her if she had her seat belt off, because I wanted to make sure that she wasn’t going to be sucked down with her seat belt on,” said Goodman.
After freeing the driver’s leg, which was trapped by the door, the rescuers got her out of the car and back to land.
“Thank God we got her out. She said that there was nobody else in the car. I pray that that’s the case,” said Goodman.
Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue crews took the woman away on a gurney. The same surveillance camera captured the transport.
FLFR’s dive team entered the water to ensure no one else was inside the vehicle.
As for Goodman, he said he’s just grateful that he and the three people on the boat were all in the right place at the right time.
“It feels good. I’m still a little bit in shock, but more importantly, I hope that she’s OK and nobody got hurt,” he said.
Officials said crews had inconsistent information about the possibility of someone else being in the Civic.
As of Saturday night, the driver’s condition is unknown.
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