Good Samaritans save man from submerged vehicle

NORTHEAST MIAMI-DADE, Fla. (WSVN) -- Good Samaritans rushed to the aid of an elderly man after his car plunged into Biscayne Bay, Sunday.

According to witnesses, the car drove into the water near Northeast 106th Street and Biscayne Bay, around 5 p.m. "We see this car flip over onto its rooftop, fall into the water and basically just starts drifting and then starts submerging itself," said Miami Beach Police Detective Daniel Erben, who saw the accident while sitting on the dock.

Those who saw the car crash through the concrete and into the water had to react quickly, as the 81-year-old man behind the wheel remained inside vehicle. "I wasn't thinking at the time. I just jumped in as fast as I could," said a man who dove into the water.

Erben jumped into the water with one of his friends to help save the driver. "At some point, we just started running around on the dock, and we jumped into the water along with three other gentlemen," he said. "[We] went over to the driver's side, pulled the driver's side door open and felt a leg, so we pulled him out."

The victim was unconscious when the five men in the water reached him. "He was unresponsive. He was full of fluid. He was unresponsive, looked like he was unconscious, just kept doing compressions," said Erben. "He was heavy, you know. Thank God we got him out."

The rescuers lifted the victim onto a nearby Zodiac raft before getting him on a boat deck. Witnesses believe the victim may have come back to life at that moment. "A lot of water coming out of his lungs," said Erben.

"At least his mouth was moving as soon as he got out to the inflatable," said a witness.

Rescue crews performed CPR on the victim before transporting him to North Shore Hospital.

Trained rescue divers and two Good Samaritans searched for more victims inside the car. "We saw a shoe come out, so we thought there might be somebody else in the car," said one man. There were no other passengers inside the vehicle at the time of the crash.

Neighbors of the victim could not believe he survived the accident. "He was dead! He had a heart attack. He was dead, and they kept pushing on his chest to get the water out of his lungs, and they got him alive," said neighbor Leonard Cohen.

Authorities said the victim is expected to survive, thanks to the Good Samaritans who saved him. "Hey, your adrenaline is pumping, you've just got to suck it up and get in the water and get whoever is in there because obviously they're in a worse situation than we are," said Erben.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation.

Miami-Dade Police will tow the vehicle out of Biscayne Bay on Monday morning.

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