Multiple people were saved in separate incidents after vehicles plunged into waterways in Martin County recently, both of which involved good Samaritans assisting in the rescues.
The first incident involved a good Samaritan rescuing a pregnant woman from a vehicle that plunged into a waterway along Interstate 95 last week.
According to Martin County Fire Rescue, this happened just before 8 a.m. Friday near the 112-mile marker on Interstate 95.
A vehicle left the roadway and became fully submerged in a pond near the weigh station.
Officials said as the car began to sink, a good Samaritan who witnessed the crash immediately “jumped into action”.
“We were told the witness swam roughly 30 feet from the shore to reach the vehicle. He was able to reach the driver, whom he recognized was pregnant, and open the door. Thankfully, he successfully pulled her to safety before the car was completely lost under the water,” according to a Facebook post on the Martin County Fire Rescue page.
Crews arrived and took the driver to a local trauma center with serious injuries.
A fire rescue dive team entered the water to conduct a secondary search of the vehicle and assist with recovery operations.
“We are incredibly grateful for the bravery shown by this citizen. His quick decision to swim out and reach the driver undoubtedly changed the outcome of this incident,” Fire Rescue said.
WATCH BELOW: Sheriff outlines rescue of family from canal
Family Rescued from Canal
In a separate incident, a family of four was rescued Sunday from a canal that was 5 to 6 feet deep in Indiantown.
Martin County Fire Rescue said just after 3 p.m., a Jeep was upside down in a waterway located at the intersection of Southwest Minute Maid & Southwest Allapattah roads.
Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek said during a Monday afternoon news conference that when deputies arrived at the scene, a good Samaritan was holding a woman’s head above the water.
“Unbeknownst to the deputies … they (also found) out that there are three kids in the car also, so they immediately opened the doors and they started pulling these children out — ages 10 and younger. I think the youngest one was 6 months old,” Budensiek said. “They were able to pull the children out, pull them to safety, and get the lady help that she needed.”
Officials said Sunday the three young children had minor injuries.
The woman, who is the children’s mother, was successfully extricated from the Jeep with serious injuries.
All of the victims were taken to HCA Florida Lawnwood Hospital in Fort Pierce for treatment.
Budensiek said they were first alerted to the crash by a driver who saw the Jeep earlier, but then it suddenly vanished.
The driver then turned around and spotted a small trail, the width of a car, leading off into an area where the canal was located.
“The good Samaritan made their way out there and found this (woman) submerged in her car unconscious,” the sheriff said. “Our investigation leads us to believe that this female, whom our deputies know, … has suffered from seizures recently and may have had a seizure which forced her to drive the car off the road and into that canal.”
Budensiek said if it wasn’t for the quick thinking by the good Samaritan, who spotted the woman’s vehicle no longer on the road, the vehicle likely would not have been found “for a long period of time.”
“It’s one of these crashes that you read about every once in a while where cars just disappear, and you can’t find them, but thankfully, that good Samaritan noticed something was wrong and went back, and our deputies were able to help them render aid for the female and save the kids,” Budensiek said.
As of last night, the sheriff said the female driver still was not breathing on her own, but doctors were optimistic that she was going to survive. The children were unharmed in the crash, the sheriff said Monday.
The sheriff’s office did not release any of the names of the good Samaritans or the victims in the two cases.
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