Broward Sheriff firefighters and deputies pulled a woman out of a submerged car and resuscitated her after she backed out of her parking space and drove into a lake at Century Village in Deerfield Beach Friday, authorities said.
Broward Sheriff’s Office detectives believe that Josefa Luz Garcia, 80, backed out of her designated space at the 55-and-older gated community and then kept going in reverse over an embankment and into the water, Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue spokesman Mike Jachles said.
Witnesses heard the splash of impact and saw her Chevy Impala sinking behind 1026 Ashby D, and someone called it in at about 11:30 a.m. Two bystanders unsuccessfully tried to rescue Luz Garcia before BSO deputies and Fire Rescue crews arrived within minutes, Jachles said.
Her car was found 112 feet from the shore where it entered the water, at the bottom of the 12-foot-deep lake. Rescuers used a center punch to break a window and pull out Luz Garcia, who was in full cardiac arrest, according to Jachles.
But firefighter paramedics “began aggressive advanced life support measures” and were able to resuscitate her and restore her pulse on the way to North Broward Medical Center, he said. She remains there in critical condition.
