WEST PALM BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - A South Florida woman risked her own life to save another from danger.
She jumped in to help a man who accidentally drove into a lake.
Residents in West Palm Beach first spotted the vehicle in the lake at around 8 p.m. on Monday.
Many people grabbed their phones to record video, but not Annmarie Sanchez, the mother of three young children, who dove in and started swimming
“I had no idea if there were crocodiles, alligators, anything, I just kind of went for it; I wasn’t going to let him die,” said Sanchez.
She said by the time she got to the vehicle, it was completely underwater and the driver was struggling to stay afloat.
Slowly, Sanchez started pulling the man toward shore, but it was hard and she needed help.
“Then I got really desperate where I really couldn’t hold him anymore, and I started asking for a helping hand and I’m yelling,” she said.
Sanchez said there were about 20 people on the bank, but nobody moved.
“That was very frustrating, and it made me feel, kind of like very inhumane,” said Sanchez.
The good Samaritan said she kept pulling and was seconds away from having to give up, when someone finally swam out to help. Together, they made it to the shore safely.
Then, on Thursday afternoon, someone knocked on Sanchez’s door and introduced himself as Bill, the man she saved.
“I was so happy to see his face. We hugged, that’s the first thing that we did,” said Sanchez. “The first thing he said was, ‘Thank you for having the courage to jump in when nobody else did, thank you for saving me.'”
She told Bill it was something she had to do.
“I just couldn’t sit there and let a stranger die in front of me and not do anything,” said Sanchez.
Sanchez said she hopes to keep in touch with Bill and is also searching for the woman who helped her during the rescue to thank her personally.
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