EL PORTAL, FLA. (WSVN) - A police officer who helped save a woman after her car plunged into a canal is now being hailed a hero and speaking about the tricky save.
El Portal Police officer Angel Lopez relived the rescue where he pulled Sabrina Anderson from a sinking situation, saying had he arrived just a few minutes later, it could have been too late.
While he was on his way home, he found himself in a situation that mattered: A woman inside a sinking car in a canal.
“I looked to my left and saw a commotion,” he said.
Officer Lopez had just gotten off work when he drove up on trouble at North Miami Avenue near 86th Street around 5 p.m., Tuesday.
“When I looked up and over, I saw the car there, and I saw a lady sitting in the passenger side, and the car was sinking,” he said. “I slid down this embankment and thank God that the car didn’t immediately sink. It floated for a little bit and gave me the opportunity to pull her out through the window.”
He propped her up on a pipe, and together they waited for help from Miami-Dade Fire Rescue.
“I think they have her stable.”
Working together, they pulled Anderson to safety.
“I want to say thanks because it was a matter of saving my life,” said Anderson.
The El Portal Police Chief is calling Officer Lopez a hero. He disagrees, saying it’s all in a day’s work.
“I just did what I had to do. I did my job, I saved a life, I go home and today is another day,” Lopez said.
The El Portal Police Chief said Lopez will receive a life-saving ribbon and will certainly be the front-runner for Officer of the Month.
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