Florida City Police Rescue Man From Sinking Car
FLORIDA CITY (CBSMiami) - A 78-year-old Cutler Bay man who accidentally drove his Honda minivan into a pond in Florida City Thursday night is thanking a witness and two Florida City police officers who saved his life.
"I feel very good they were there," said Ernesto Sherwood. "I would like to say thank you very much to them."
Sherwood told CBS4's Peter D'Oench, "Most people don't recognize the good work police do. They often get criticism and they do really good work."
CLICK HERE To Watch Peter D'Oench's Report
CBS4 obtained surveillance video that showed Sherwood's minivan plunging into a pond just before 8:30 p.m. at the Village of Palm Bay community at S.W. 9th St. and 8th Ave. Sherwood was on his way home to Cutler Bay.
"On my way back," he said, "I took a wrong turn. All of a sudden I saw my feet getting all wet."
He was not able to open his door.
"I was not scared," he said. "I was worried, yes."
Keith Bartley was captured on tape in the car behind him.
"As I came in driving I saw him running a stop sign and he went straight into the pond," he said. "I'm like no, no, there is water there."
Bartley flagged down Officer Ismael Castilla, who was on patrol.
"I immediately removed my gun belt and without thinking how dangerous it was I jumped in the lake," said Castilla. "I saw the window starting to fog up and I said oh my gosh there is someone in the car."
He said Sherwood was crying for help and gasping for air.
"I immediately ran in the water and followed behind him," said Officer Alberto Rodriguez.
Rodriguez use a seat belt cutter with a special "punch" at the end of it to break a window and get Sherwood out of the vehicle.
"It has a grass punch at the end of it and I hit the window several times to break the driver's side window," he said.
Sherwood was rescued and his Honda minivan was pulled from the pond.
"They did really good work," said Sherwood. "I say thank you very much."
Officer Castilla said, "I was so happy. It's a great feeling when you save somebody's life."
Sherwood's wife Claudia said, "I feel great and really thankful that the police officers saved his life. Without that effort, he may not have been alive today. I loved those police officers and I will never forget them."
Ernesto and Claudia Sherwood have been married for 51 years. He said this incident was one of the biggest scares of his life. He plans to be much more careful about his driving, particularly at night.
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