A crash on Interstate 95 in Volusia County unfolded on Monday as a car ended up in a water-filled ditch, but officials would not let their gifts stay underwater.

The incident unfolded at around 11:45 a.m. Monday when the vehicle veered off the highway, struck a pole, rolled, and landed in a ditch with approximately three feet of water.

Bystanders helped the occupants, a woman and three children, the oldest around 5 years old, before first responders arrived on the scene. They were taken to the hospital with only minor injuries.

After the woman and her children were taken to the hospital, local firefighters accessed the submerged vehicle using a ladder to salvage as many Christmas gifts as possible. The bystanders and Volusia County Sheriff’s Office deputies formed a human chain to help firefighters rescue the gifts.

Deputies then moved the gifts to its office to have them sorted, dried, supplemented with extra donated gifts and then delivered to the hospital for the children.

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