Members of the U.S. Coast Guard performed a gallant rescue over the weekend after an elderly man drove into a Florida bay.
Rescuers arrived to the scene at St. Andrews Marina in Panama City just two minutes after Coast Guard members aboard the cutter Marlin saw the car go into the water, WALA reported.
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As the cutter approached the white sedan, it was quickly being submerged into the bay head-first, complicating the Coast Guard’s attempts to rescue the driver.
The boat crew was able to break a car window and retrieve the 89-year-old man from inside.
To The Rescue: Coast Guard members break a window to rescue an 89-year-old man from a sinking car in Panama City, Florida. https://t.co/ZPTt4zGNjS pic.twitter.com/CitoLMDEk7
— ABC News (@ABC) January 1, 2018
“I am very pleased with the quick reaction of the crew,” said Master Chief Petty Officer Glenn Bucklin, the officer in charge of Coast Guard Cutter Marlin. “This is a perfect example of the training we put into our job. As soon as one of our crewmen witnessed the car enter the water, the entire crew fluidly reacted. We are extremely grateful that we happened to be at the marina at the right time to put our boat crew in position to save the life of the driver trapped inside.”
The man was listed in stable condition. The circumstances on how the car ended up in the water were remain unclear.
(H/T: WALA)