A Florida deputy is “lucky to be alive” after being sucked into a drainage pipe and swept underwater for about 30 seconds after trying to help a stranded driver who was stuck in the flood, authorities said.
Escambia County has experienced severe weather and heavy rain over the past few days, and those weather conditions were at a peak Friday morning when deputy William Hollingsworth was on patrol, Escambia County Sheriff Chip Simmons said in a statement on Facebook.
At around 1:39 a.m. local time in Pensacola, Florida, Hollingsworth exited his patrol car and approached a man who was trapped in rising waters, Simmons said.
When Hollingsworth got closer, he saw the man get swept underwater and quickly “rushed to his aid without regard for his own safety,” Simmons said in the statement.
As Hollingsworth attempted to rescue the man, both were sucked into a drainage pipe and swept underneath a roadway on Hwy 98.
‘Can you believe what just happened to us?’
The two were swept underwater and “traveled nearly 100 feet,” Simmons said. “They eventually resurfaced on the other end of the roadway − lucky to be alive.”
Body camera video captured the moment Hollingsworth went underwater and resurfaced 30 seconds later. When Hollingsworth spotted the man he tried to save, the two shared a moment.
“David, can you believe what just happened to us?” Hollingsworth said. “Just breathe.”
“I almost died,” the man said.
“I almost died, too,” Hollingsworth said.
Simmons said the incident is an example of the “exceptional courage displayed by the men and women of law enforcement every day.”
