Driver Dies After Margate Canal Crash

MARGATE (CBS4) -- A Coral Springs man has died after being rushed to the hospital after his SUV plunged into a Margate canal.

The accident took place shortly after 8:00 a.m. near South Bay Drive and Northwest 31st Street, just off 441.

Margate officials say the driver of the Jeep SUV, Charles Dawson, lost control and went through a fence before going into the water.

"That's when I started screaming help and nobody would stop," explained witness Maria Mallozzi to CBS4's Joan Murray.

Margate police say the driver was stuck in the SUV, seat-belted in the locked vehicle with the windows rolled up.

"I yelled, 'we called 911, they are coming.' Within seconds, the car went in," said Mallozzi.

Officers and a good Samaritan tried to get him out of the vehicle before rescue workers arrived. They eventually managed to break the SUV's glass and cut the seat belt in order to rescue Dawson.

He was revived on the scene by paramedics and rushed to Northwest Medical Center where he later died, according to officials at the hospital.

For Mallozzi, the scene brought back some horrible memories.

"My son died that way 10-years ago. It's like a flashback. It's sad to watch someone die and you can't do anything."

Police are still trying to determine whether it was a medical issue or a mechanical issue that caused Dawson to careen into the canal.