Body cam video shows man pulled from submerged car following crash
By: Deputies with the Martin County Sheriff's Office jumped into action to help a man injured from a crash, the rescue was captured on a deputy's body camera.
The sheriff's office said the crash took place on at 1 a.m. Wednesday, off a dark, remote county road in Indiantown.
"In a canal that I know has alligators in it, but they jumped in without regard for themselves for their own safety," Chief Deputy John Budensiek tells CBS12 News. "The individual driving had swerved to miss a wild hog. It’s a freak accident.”
Dispatch received an automated distress call from the victim's cellphone. The phone alerted them with the latitude and longitude of the crash site.
“That phone application saved him of what could have been more catastrophic," Chief Deputy Budensiek said about the application that iPhones and most Androids have.
Deputies said when they arrived, they found a vehicle upside down in a canal.
The cries for help can be heard coming from inside the car, deputies quickly rush into the water to rescue the man.
The three deputies working together, frantically trying to get inside the car, but the door handle breaks off, all the while, the man is desperately crying got help.
His body heat was dropping.
"Can you get me a blanket please, I'm freezing," the man said.
"The victim that night was probably slipping into a form of hyperthermia, you can tell by watching the video," Budensiek said.
The video shows a deputy leading the man from his car. Paramedics then assisted the man once he was pulled from the water. He was taken to a nearby hospital, where he is expected to recover.