A Florida man made a selfless decision to save a pregnant woman from a sinking car after she crashed in a pond.
On Friday morning, Logan Hayes was stuck in traffic going south on Interstate 95 when he noticed the vehicle sinking in a pond near a rest stop in Martin County, Florida. Without hesitation, he ran, jumped into the water, and swam to the car.
“I was just kind of dumbfounded, to be honest. Like, I just couldn’t believe that happened. Couldn’t believe that at that exact moment I happened to be driving by at the exact time,” said Hayes.
When Hayes made it to the car, he found the back passenger door was the only one still above water.
“I swam up to the car, the back passenger door was the only door that was … luckily, it was the closest door as well as it was kind of the only door that was still enough above water,” he said.
When he encountered the woman, Hayes said she was panicking and asking how to get out. He instructed her to come to him.
“And so, she comes in between the two front seats and climbs … she’s coming into the backseat. The car is now starting to tilt more and roll down and more over. It’s water flooding the car,” Hayes said.
Hayes, who works on a private sport fishing boat, is no stranger to water but had never rescued anyone before.
“I’ve had other instances where I’ve helped people to shore, surfing and all kinds of stuff, but I definitely felt way more control in those instances,” he said. “As comfortable as I am in the water, to feel like I was capable being able to do something like that.”
He said when they were getting ready to swim back to shore, that’s when he realized she was pregnant.
“She landed in the water next to me, and I grabbed her around her hips just to hold it because I didn’t know what or where she was going to go, like, what was going to happen if she could swim. So, when I was holding her, that’s when I realized she was pregnant because obviously I was wrapped around her and could feel her stomach,” Hayes said.
As Hayes swam her back to shore, Martin County Fire Rescue crews arrived minutes later. Fire rescue divers entered the water to confirm no other occupants were inside.
“It clicked like a different level of how crazy this was. And so, I swam her to shore, it’s like 40 or 50 feet from where the car was sunk. But I mean, when I got a hold of her and turned around, the car was already under the water and gone,” Hayes said.
Hayes later spoke to the fiancé of the pregnant woman, who expressed gratitude for saving her.
Hours after the rescue, the woman gave birth to the baby at a nearby hospital in Fort Piece. It turns out it was also the pregnant woman’s 29th birthday.
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