SUV Plunges Into Biscayne Bay, Man Rescued
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – It was a heroic scramble to save a life Thursday after a driver bent on suicide drove his SUV off of the embankment just under the MacArthur Causeway Bridge near Jungle Island.
"He had the windows rolled up. The doors were locked. We were banging on the windows trying to get in. We could not break the windows," Sgt. James Barrett said.
With the driver telling the Miami-Dade police to go away, they took him out of the sun roof – and by no means was he cooperative.
"He had his hands on the steering wheel. We had to pull him from the steering wheel. Pull him up through the sun roof to the roof of the SUV," Barrett said.
He was then put onto a Miami-Dade marine patrol boat where an officer kept him in a bear hug for his own protection, fearing he would jump back into the water.
Within in a few short minutes, the SUV sank and drifted out into the bay.
The driver of the SUV was turned over to Miami Fire Rescue.
The Miami-Dade marine patrol officers were on a training mission when they got the call. At that moment, all their training kicked in.
"It is not every day you get to do something like that," Barrett said.