Divers Rescue Man Trapped In Submerged Truck
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SOUTHWEST MIAMI-DADE (CBSMiami) - Miami-Dade firefighters rescued a man trapped inside a tractor trailer early Saturday morning and Monday they talked about the rescue.
The man was able to survive inside the cab of the truck because of an air pocket.
"As firefighters this is what we live for," said Brandy Paternoster, a Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Diver. "To be able to affect a rescue to be able to actually save somebody and actually make a difference, that's a stunning feeling."
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Cameras captured the moments just after that lifesaving rescue early Saturday morning after a tractor trailer plunged into a canal.
It happened about twenty-miles west of Krome Avenue in pitch darkness and divers admit they weren't optimistic, at first.
"The entire way out there I was really thinking this guy didn't have a chance," said Paternoster.
When the first diver arrived, the entire cab of the truck was underwater.
She searched with no luck and 15-minutes later a backup diver arrived and noticed a pair of boots inside the truck's cab.
"It's very rare we find a live person in this situation. It really is a big deal for us. I went to grab the boots of the body, the guy kicked me away, so we have a live patient, a live victim," said Salvador Hernandez.
The driver survived about 45-minutes underwater in an air pocket, but getting him out wasn't easy.
The divers said he was terrified to leave the truck because he couldn't swim. The divers decided to share an air tank, so the truck driver could breathe from their equipment.
"Even with the regulator it took three or four tries before he would come out," said Hernandez. "He was very scared to trust us at that point. He didn't want to leave his safety zone of that air pocket," added Paternoster. "So after I knew he had that, I grabbed his pant leg and his shirt and she grabbed me and we all went out," Hernandez continued.
In the end, the driver was able to walk away from the crash.
"There were a lot of things that could've gone wrong, but luckily everything went right," said Hernandez.
"I just felt very fortunate to be in the right place, right time, right amount of training with the right diver it all just fell into place," added Paternoster.
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