Deputies rescue two people from car submerged in canal
By Ari Hait
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MARTIN COUNTY, Florida (WPBF) — Deputies in Martin County are being called heroes after racing into a canal to rescue two people stuck in an overturned car.
Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek said it happened off of Rt. 714 in the northwestern section of the county.
“If you’ve been out there, you know it’s dark and desolate out there,” Budensiek said.
The Sheriff said a husband and wife were driving on Rt. 714 Saturday night, around 10:30 p.m., when they were hit by another car that just kept going.
“Looks like it was sort of clipped in the back, spun out of control, left the road, rotated over onto its roof, and landed in a canal,” Budensiek said.
The area where this happened is very rural, with the roads surrounded by thick brush.
Budensiek said that the brush made it extremely difficult for deputies to initially find the car, even after the people inside had called 911.
“Even knowing the area where that vehicle was supposed to be, couldn’t find it,” Budensiek said. “They drove up and down the road and eventually heard a horn honking.”
Once they were able to locate the vehicle, Budensiek said deputies wasted no time going into the canal to rescue the people trapped inside the vehicle that was quickly filling with water.
“The car was submerged but not fully submerged,” Budensiek said. “So, they were able to maintain the ability to breathe.”
Deputies busted out the windows of the car and pulled the couple to safety.
“God was looking out for them,” Budensiek said. “They were in a rural part of Martin County. They left the road. They ended up in a spot where no one would have found them. If they’d been knocked unconscious and fully submerged, they would have drowned in that car.”
Investigators are still searching for the vehicle that hit the car, sending it into the canal.
The sheriff said the only description they have of that vehicle is a “white, work-type vehicle.”
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