Toddler, Woman Rescued By Good Samaritan After Car Plunges Into Canal; Two Killed

A woman and a child were rescued by a truck driver after the car they traveled in veered off the road and fell into a canal in Florida. However, the accident killed two women of ages 47 and 22.

The car carrying five people, including two children and three women, was passing Interstate 75 Tuesday afternoon when its back left tire blew out. The vehicle suddenly lost control and plunged into the Alligator Alley canal.

Charlie Chang, a truck driver, witnessed the incident and rushed to the car passengers’ rescue.

"I saw the car go airborne, and I just stopped and ran and jumped in the water," Chang told WSVN. "I didn’t think about it. I didn’t think about the gators or nothing like that. I just did it."

Chang said the car started to sink into the water fast.

"The car was going under so fast that by the time I jumped in, I was able to swim out to grab the first lady and a child," he said. "At that point, the car had gone under."

Another witness at the scene jumped into the water and saved the second child.

However, due to delayed rescue, two women remained submerged in the water for a longer time. Rescue crews pulled the women out a while later and administered CPR to them. They were then transported to a nearby hospital in critical condition. Later that night, the women succumbed to their injuries. Police did not reveal the names of the passengers involved in the incident.

The three survivors were treated on the scene for non-life-threatening injuries, BSO Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Michael Kane said to Miami Herald.

All five passengers of the car are residents of North Fort Myers.