Florida sheriff’s deputies were captured on night vision camera saving a man who was trapped inside his van that sunk in a lake, late on Sunday.
Calls came in to emergency responders reporting a reckless driver in a van late on Sunday in South Florida, prompting a search by air and on the ground for the vehicle.
The van was spotted just before midnight by the Collier County sheriff’s department’s Aviation Bureau, as it jumped the curb and went into the water.
The footage shows the vehicle completely submerged before authorities are able to reach the man, forcing them to break him out while the vehicle was underwater.
The video which was filmed from a helicopter was released on Monday by the Sheriff’s department.
The helicopter crew tracked down the van on Golden Gate Boulevard near Collier Boulevard.
The van is shown in the video jumping a curb and careening into a lake.
As the officials in the air see this happening in real time, they are on the lookout for a driver making his way to shore, but that’s not what they saw.
Florida sheriff’s deputies were captured on night vision camera saving a man who was trapped inside his van that was completely submerged in a lake, late on Sunday
The van was spotted just before midnight by the Collier County sheriff’s department’s Aviation Bureau, as it jumped the curb and went into the water
The helicopter crew tracked down the van on Golden Gate Boulevard near Collier Boulevard
‘Looking for subjects now,’ a deputy can be heard saying in footage captured from a helicopter. ‘I am not seeing anyone exit the van yet.’
Instead, the van sinks lower and lower in the water, eventually becoming completely submerged and totally out of sight.
A few minutes later, at least five deputies are visible in the video, jumping into the water and making their way to the submerged van.
As the officials in the air see this happening in real time, they are on the lookout for a driver making his way to shore, but that’s not what they saw
Instead, the van sinks lower and lower in the water, eventually becoming completely submerged and totally out of sight
A few minutes later, at least five deputies are visible in the video, jumping into the water and making their way to the submerged van
In just a matter of moments, deputies were able to remove the driver from the sunken vehicle.
In order to do so, deputies had to break the rear window.
When they reached the driver, he was unconscious and not breathing.
In just a matter of moments, they were able to remove the driver from the sunken vehicle
They wasted no time pulling him to shore, dragging him by his arms to a level location
Once he was out of the water, deputies immediately began performing CPR on him
Deputies wasted no time pulling the man to shore, dragging him by his arms to a level location and immediately beginning cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
The unidentified driver was taken to a nearby hospital, following the dramatic incident. The driver’s condition is not known at this time.
The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating the crash.
The unidentified driver was taken to a nearby hospital; his condition is not known at this time