Body cam captures two Cape Coral police officers saving man trapped underneath car
By: A Cape Coral man is lucky to be alive after the car he was working on fell, crushing and trapping him underneath.
His family identifies the man as Francisco, who’s in his 70s. He was working on changing the transmission cable on his car on Monday when somehow the ramps holding up the car collapsed.
“The whole car fell on his body,” said Francisco’s son-in-law, Carlos Romero.
In a matter of minutes, Cape Coral police officers arrived at their SE 8th Terrace home. Two officers lifted the car while Carlos pulled his father-in-law to safety.
“The two guys come here from the Cape Coral Police Department, and they literally lift the car with his hands,” Romero said.
He was helping his father-in-law work on the red Chevy sedan when the accident happened. According to Romero, the car is Francisco’s prize possession.
“He loves the car,” he said. “It’s like the first car he buy, brand new, or something like that.”
Francisco successfully removed the old part, but before he could install the new one, his car collapsed onto him.
While dialing 911, Romero grabbed a jack to try and lift the car off of Francisco.
“Then I grabbed another jack from that car, and that one was better. At least I had the car a little separate from the body,” he said.
The two Cape Coral police officers arrived in the nick of time. Together, they wrestled enough strength to light the front end of the car, allowing Romero to pull Francisco out from underneath.
At this point, Francisco is unconscious and barely breathing.
Carlos: “He’s got a pulse”
Officer: “He’s got one?”
Carlos: “He’s got a pulse.”
“If that had continued to weigh on him like that, he probably would’ve lost his life,” said Cape Coral Police Department Public Information Officer, Mercedes Phillips.
Francisco is now in the hospital. Doctors say he has seven cracked ribs, as well as some other broken bones.
But the most important thing, he has his life.
“The doctors say it’s a miracle he’s alive,” Romero said.
“It’s like the Hulk lifting the car off of somebody. It’s pretty cool, and we’re really proud of him,” Phillips added.
Francisco remains in the hospital. However, his family is hopeful he’ll be ready to come home by the end of the week.