A Good Samaritan helped a police officer save a man from drowning after his car crashed into a water main and began filling with water Wednesday.
The crash occurred when the driver of a 2009 Mini Cooper collided into an above ground water main at the corner of Sultanas Road and Highway 74 in the Riverside County town of Homeland.
According to witnesses, the driver had passed out at the wheel. Meanwhile, water was gushing into the car at a rapid speed.
"All I see he was drifting to the side. As I see him drifting I see he was asleep," said witness Buzzy McLoud, who said the driver had lost consciousness before veering off the road.
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Good Samaritan Tonya Feotossivea ran over to help when she saw the man was in danger of drowning.
"He was drowning the car. The water was going up, the water was going up. He was going to drown," Feotossivia said. "The cop busted the window and we dragged him out."
Feotossivia helped a Riverside County Sheriff's deputy drag the man from his vehicle to safety as water gushed all around them, getting blood on her hands in the process. She collapsed in tears at the side of the road as the adrenaline wore off and she was overcome by emotion.
The deputy did not want to be interviewed about his part of the rescue, only saying "it’s just my job, brother.”
Other emergency services workers at the scene said without the heroic pair’s intervention, things could have turned out very differently.
"They saved his life. They got him out of the car, they risked their own lives getting in there. The guy would have drowned from the situation at hand,” Riverside County Fire Department’s Capt. Greg Turbeville said.
The victim was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment and is expected to make a good recovery.
