An off-duty Florida police officer rescued two men trapped inside a vehicle which flipped over and landed inside a pond.
Cocoa Police Department Cpl. Kenneth Brackin said he returned home from his shift on Wednesday and was about to shower when he heard a “loud screeching sound followed by a loud bang.”
Once he rushed outside to see what happened, Brackin found out a car flipped over and landed inside a nearby pond.
“I could hear somebody banging on the inside of the car while it was underwater,” he said. “I handed the stuff out of my pockets to my fiancé and walked around and jumped in.”
Brackin attempted to open a few of the car doors before freeing both people trapped inside the vehicle. The Florida cop told Fox 35 Orlando the water was five feet deep and both people had six inches of breathing room before he rescued them.
“All I could see was just his face, sitting in the top in the air and trying to breathe,” Brackin said.
Police say neither occupant of the vehicle sustained serious injuries, and Brackin was hailed for his actions.
“It didn’t really matter what it took– I was going to get in there and do something,” Brackin said. “When you have the opportunity to do something or save a life, you have to go in and do it.”
Other officers responded to the site as backup after the rescue and began recording video at the scene.
Investigators say the 19-year-old driver may have had a few drinks before crashing the car into a fire hydrant, causing the car to flip over and land in the pond, WFTV reported. Officers say there are charges pending against the 19-year-old.
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