It was a harrowing rescue in Davie after a team of good Samaritans sprang into action to rescue a woman whose car rolled into a retention pond with her still in it Tuesday.
The incident happened near Southwest 47th Avenue in Davie as people were getting to work.
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WATCH HEREChopper footage captured the moment people jumped into the pond to help to pull the woman out of the water after she managed to escape from her car which was completely submerged.
Among the good Samaritans was 68-year-old Stephen Welch who immediately jumped in to help.
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"I came out and she was bobbing in the water, but it was obvious she wasn’t going to last much longer," Welch said. "So shoes came off, shirt came off, and I went in."
Welch told NBC6 he was at his desk inside Health Genesis when he heard some of his colleagues yelling about a car in the water. That's when he said his training of competitive swimming kicked in.
He told NBC6 another man he didn't know also jumped in and together they worked to get the woman to safety.
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"I got there a few seconds before him and I just started pushing her," Welch said. "I was pushing her towards the far embankment and he was behind her. He was also trying to pull her and get her over there. He was doing the bulk of the work at that time."
Chopper 6 showed a bird eye's view of just how large the pond is and witnesses told NBC6 it's also deeper than expected. The car is completely underwater with only a marker to indicate its location.
Once they got close to the embankment, others were waiting on the side with a rope to help them climb out of the murky water.
"There was only one option and that was to go. That was it," Welch said. It’s not humble, it’s just go. Between all the water safety instruction I had when I was younger and swimming etcera etcera panic isn’t a part of life."
NBC6 spoke to an employee at Red Smith Foods who said the victim is a temporary employee of theirs as well as the other good Samaritan, who along with Welch, helped rescue her.
Welch said he is just happy she is okay and that no one else was in the car.
