VIDEO: Jamaican Man Rescues Little Girl From Sinking Van in Florida
A little girl and her father are probably alive today because of the courageous efforts of one Jamaican man.
Jephtah Thomas, who is now being labelled a “good samaritan” was driving along Sunrise Boulevard in the US state of Florida when he noticed that a van ran into a canal.
The van which contained a 10-year-old girl and her father began to sink almost instantaneously.
While speaking with WSVN 7 News, Mr Thomas stated “I looked to the right and I heard the sound of a crash. I looked across and I saw the vehicle in the water. It was submerging.”
Persons who witnessed the horrifying incident stated the front of the vehicle was completely submerged in a matter of seconds.
Thomas’ heroic reaction just as instantaneous. “I just pulled up over there, jumped up to run across, pulled my phone out, dialed 911,” he stated.
He then managed to get the aid of a Florida Power and Light driver. Thomas feared the worst when he tried to open one of the vehicle’s doors.
“I tried opening that, it did not open, then I heard a knock on the back window, and once I heard that, I said, ‘Thank God they are safe. They’re not dead.’”
He eventually managed to enter the vehicle and realised the passengers had almost been entirely submerged by the water.
“I think the father was holding her up above the water,” he stated.
His rescue efforts required him to break the vehicle’s window.
“I saw that my finger could get in, I pulled it open and it busted, once it busted, the little girl just jumped on my neck,” he said.
The van was later lifted out of the water.
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