Miami

Divers Rescue Truck Driver After Cab Ends Up Under Water

A 40-year-old truck driver is lucky to be alive after his quick thinking and an once-in-a-lifetime save by Miami-Dade Fire Rescue.

The driver was in his semi when he had an accident and the cab ended up submerged in a canal 20 miles west of Krome Avenue. After the initial call came in, Fire-Rescue dive team member Brandy Paternoster used a 15 minute ride to the scene to get suited up. When she arrived, she dove into the dark waters.

“I tried to find the guy,” Paternoster said. “I searched the cab. I had to get the passenger door open.”

But Paternoster found nothing when she finally got the passenger door open. So she swam to the other side of the semi’s cab and tried to open the driver’s side door, but it was jammed. By then, more crews had arrived, including Salvador Hernandez, who had also suited up on the way and dove into the waters.

“Once we got inside, we noticed some boots,” said Hernandez.

The divers hadn’t found a body; instead they found the driver who had scrambled to the sleeper cab of his truck where he found an air pocket. At first, the driver tried to kick the two away saying he couldn’t swim.

Hernandez said he was able to calm the driver down and eventually convince him to use his respirator to breathe and escape the watery trap.

“I gave him my regulator,” Hernandez said. “I buddy-breathed off of hers; and together, we went out.”

The driver suffered no physical injuries in the accident and water rescue. Instead, he walked away from what firefighters said was the first recued they had made like this.

“It was dangerous, but this is what we train for,” said Paternoster. “This is what we want to do.”

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