Three days after her heroic rescue from an SUV that had overturned in a water-filled ditch, a woman from Florida has died.
Tuesday afternoon, an unidentified woman lost control of her SUV and went off the road, striking a tree and flipping over into the water. Witnesses and Volusia County first responders sprung into action to save the woman.
Firefighters are seen on video removing the unconscious woman from the driver’s side of her Toyota Highlander that has been submerged in water. At the time of the rescue, she was still alive but unresponsive.
The woman passed tragically from her injuries early on Friday evening after being brought to a neighbouring hospital in severe condition.
According to the police, it is unclear what first led her to lose control of the car.
Body cameras worn by deputies capture the action taken by Volusia County sheriff’s deputies, firefighters, and Good Samaritans to remove a woman from her vehicle after it overturned in a ditch in Oak Hill, Florida on Tuesday at 12:15 p.m.
Bystanders are seen standing alongside the car in three-foot-deep water, trying to push it upright, as a woman tells a sheriff’s deputy: ‘There’s a lady. She’s unresponsive.’
The deputy walks over towards the vehicle and asks: ‘There’s somebody in there. Can we get this thing flipped or not?’
He then turns towards his fellow first responders, adding: ‘You guys, someone’s submerged on the low side. We need some help pushing.’
Officials and Good Samaritans work together to push the vehicle into an upright position and pull open the driver’s side door.
The woman was trapped under the deployed airbag and her seatbelt.
‘Hey, get me a knife,’ the deputy yells. ‘Or scissors – something.’
The unconscious woman is subsequently removed from the vehicle by a bunch of firefighters, who then drag her through the muddy water and place her on a gurney.
She was bundled into an ambulance and sent quickly for medical attention to Halifax Health Medical Center in Daytona Beach. Authorities claim that efforts were made at the scene to save lives.
Police told DailyMail.com that the woman was pronounced dead at the hospital on Friday at 5.30 p.m.
The accident is still under investigation by Florida Highway Patrol.
Authorities are commending the efforts made to save the driver’s life even though she did not survive.
‘We don’t decide what happens at the very end to that patient,’ Volusia County Rescue Battalion Chief Chris Davis told WOFL-TV, praising the crew and bystanders. ‘But, they gave that patient a fighting chance.’
‘Seconds matter, so you need to make quick decisions, (and) don’t hesitate,’ firefighter Nick Corrente told WFTV. ‘So, that’s what we did.’
‘It was instinct, it was the first thing I could do to get in the water and do something to help,’ echoed Volusia County Deputy Doug Meyer. He was one of the first officials to arrive on scene.
‘Their training immediately kicked in, so I got to give these guys kudos for what they did,’ said Chief Davis. ‘It’s just this heroic effort to just do what they did.’
Firefighter Robert Hamel added: ‘Luckily we had a great team of civilians, sheriff’s office and firefighters all working together on this one.’