{"id":300482,"date":"2026-06-08T21:32:09","date_gmt":"2026-06-08T21:32:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/300482\/"},"modified":"2026-06-08T21:32:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T21:32:09","slug":"bodycam-shows-florida-deputies-pulling-elderly-driver-from-sinking-car-before-it-vanishes-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/300482\/","title":{"rendered":"Bodycam shows Florida deputies pulling elderly driver from sinking car before it vanishes"},"content":{"rendered":"

POMPANO BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 Body-worn camera video <\/a>captured a dramatic rescue in Broward County as deputies raced against the clock to save an elderly woman trapped inside a sinking car, pulling her to safety just seconds before the vehicle disappeared underwater.<\/p>\n

The Broward Sheriff’s Office<\/a> said that the rescue happened around 10:30 a.m. on May 1, when Broward County Regional Communications received a report that a car had driven into a canal near a shopping plaza on South Palm Aire Drive. Broward Sheriff\u2019s Office deputies, along with Pompano Beach Fire Rescue personnel and an off-duty Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue captain, responded to the emergency.<\/p>\n

According to authorities, BSO Detective Robert Rutkowski, Deputy Zachary Kerin and Fort Lauderdale Fire Captain Keith Costa were the first to arrive at the scene and immediately realized the urgency of the situation. The vehicle was already taking on water and beginning to sink, with a woman trapped inside.<\/p>\n

See also: Florida man sues after alligator allegedly bites his face during animal encounter<\/a><\/p>\n

Without hesitation, the three entered the canal to reach the driver.<\/p>\n

Video from Deputy Kerin\u2019s body-worn camera shows the chaotic moments as water rapidly filled the car. Kerin smashed the passenger-side window, allowing access to the trapped woman. He and Rutkowski then worked together to pull her free from the vehicle as it continued to sink.<\/p>\n

Additional deputies on shore assisted, helping pull the rescuers and the woman out of the canal and onto land. Moments after the rescue, the vehicle slipped completely beneath the surface.<\/p>\n

Sheriff Dr. Gregory Tony praised the quick actions of those involved, saying the rescue highlights how close the situation came to ending in tragedy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe body-worn camera shows an incredible rescue,\u201d Tony said. <\/p>\n

It shows the difference between how tragedy and survival was measured in just seconds. The driver is alive today because of their quick actions.\u201d<\/p>\n

The woman\u2019s identity and condition have not been released, but authorities confirmed she survived the incident thanks to the rapid response.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"POMPANO BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 Body-worn camera video captured a dramatic rescue in Broward County as deputies raced…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":297290,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[249,251,250],"class_list":["post-300482","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fort-lauderdale","tag-fort-lauderdale","tag-fort-lauderdale-headlines","tag-fort-lauderdale-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/300482","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=300482"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/300482\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/297290"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=300482"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=300482"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=300482"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}