Orange County deputies, Good Samaritan save woman from car sinking in retention pond

ORLANDO, Fla. - One woman is recovering after four Orange County deputies and a Good Samaritan jumped into a retention pond to save her from her sinking car Thursday morning.

Orange County deputies responded Thursday morning to a car floating in a pond and a woman trapped inside. They had no choice but to jump into the pond.

"They were telling her to get in the back of the car because the car at that point in the middle of the pond was starting to sink, nose-down," said Deputy Jeff Brown. He says she was within seconds of losing her life. "Just by the grace of God, when we got the door open and we got hands on her, the car went straight to the bottom."

Florida Highway Patrol says the woman landed in the pond after another car crashed into her near Avalon Park Boulevard and Old Cheney Highway.

The first deputy in the water was a trainee. It was only his seventh day on the road with the Orange County Sheriff's Office. "It’s just my job. I just saw it so I had to do it. Someone had to do it," said Deputy Trainee Cameron Mortell.

He calmed her down and helped pull the woman out. Deputies say a Good Samaritan also jumped in to help.

"Thank God he was there as well."

Deputies say the woman didn't know how to swim, making the save difficult, but this is something deputies train for.

"This is Florida. You better be ready to get in the water. We’re just fortunate to be in the right place at the right time. We don’t come to work and plan on that kind of stuff happening but we’re always prepared for it."

The other driver was ticketed for driving without a license and violation of right of way. 

The victim is at home recovering.