2 good Samaritans rescue elderly man from canal after crash in SW Miami-Dade

SOUTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA.  – Two good Samaritans rescued an elderly man from a canal after his car plunged into the water following a two-vehicle crash in Southwest Miami-Dade.

The car crashed into the canal after the collision happened on Southwest 128th Street and 117th Avenue, just before 7 p.m., Tuesday.

Cellphone video by OnlyInDade shows the car sitting face-first at the edge of the canal.

Another video shows the elderly man after he was pulled from his vehicle by one of the good Samaritans.

The two men hopped into the water with one of them swimming across the canal to save the man inside the vehicle.

In a photo taken of the aftermath of the rescue, the victim was smiling as he stood between his rescuers.

The two men spoke to 7News about the chance he took to jump into the water to save the elderly driver.

“I was driving, and we looked to the side, and I see a car floating,” said Roger Medel.

“I tell him to stop the car. There was no chance. There was either jump or the guy dies because there was a bunch of people in there, and nobody was doing nothing,” said the other good Samaritan, “and I swam all the way there, but half the lake — I was already tight because all my clothes, shoes and all– I said, ‘You know, I can’t stop right now.’”

The elderly man is said to be OK.

It’s not clear if anyone will be cited for the original crash that led to the canal plunge.