A 76-year-old North Lauderdale, Florida, man helped rescue two passengers from an SUV that crashed through his fence and landed in his swimming pool Friday.
William Marts was alerted to the incident after hearing a loud noise while inside his home, local outlet WSVN reported. Upon investigation, Marts found a silver Ford Explorer that had apparently broken through his fence and landed in his four-foot-deep swimming pool.
“We heard this tremendous crack,” Marts recalled. “I thought the lightning struck right beside the house. I went up to look, and it looked like a tidal wave right across my pool. I went ‘holy jeez!’” (RELATED: Truck Driver Survives 100-Foot Fall Off Cliff, Rescued After Five Days In Ravine)
The driver “was breathing and he was drooling, but at least he was breathing,” Marts told the outlet. “And then I noticed there was a little girl in the back of the car.”
#EXCLUSIVE: William Marts, 76, sprang into action after an SUV crashed into the swimming pool of his North Lauderdale home, and together with an off-duty BSO sergeant, they rescued the two people who were trapped inside the vehicle. https://t.co/nTKNkgrASM
— WSVN 7 News (@wsvn) September 16, 2023
He said a female detective with the Broward County Sheriff’s Office happened to drive by his home and “hopped in the water with [him]” to help rescue the occupants. The unnamed detective “was tremendous,” Marts said. They worked together to break the car window and pull the individuals out. The two occupants were taken to the hospital, where they were expected to be okay as of Sunday afternoon.
Marts had to go to hospital as well, with the strain of the incident causing his blood pressure to spike, the outlet reported. He was reported to be doing fine after getting checked out.
Marts mentioned to WSVN that car accidents are not uncommon at the busy corner outside his house, and said he wants the city to help. “We have an accident every weekend here. They’ve gone through my fence seven times … We need something besides wooden fences to stop that,” he said.