FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. – A woman, her blind mother and a service dog were rescued from a vehicle that had crashed into a pond and was beginning to fill with water, according to the Flagler County Sheriff's Office.
Video of the rescue, which happened around 4:30 p.m. Friday, shows a black Jeep Grand Cherokee with its front end submerged in a pond at Waterfront Park.
Nancy Burns told deputies that she was driving with her blind mother, Lisa Burns, in the heavy rain when she misjudged a turn onto Colbert Lane and ended up in the pond.
Deputies were able to first rescue Nancy Burns from the driver's seat but rescuing Lisa Burns and the dog from the passenger's side was more difficult.
"You're going to have to crawl over that seat and you're gonna need to hurry," a deputy tells the blind woman.
The dog is removed from the vehicle, then deputies move to assist Lisa Burns.
Deputy Collins and Deputy Meyers help lift Lisa Burns from the vehicle until she can put her feet down in the nearly waist-deep water.
"I can't believe we drove in the lake," Lisa Burns tells her rescuers once she's on dry land.
Neither woman nor the dog were injured.
Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly commended the deputies for their bravery.
“This story could have had a very different ending,” Staly said. “I am extremely proud of Deputy Meyers and Deputy Collins for their quick response to the scene and how they went into the water without hesitation. Driving in the rain can be very dangerous, if at any time you are driving and you feel like the conditions are too hazardous we encourage drivers to pull over at a safe location and wait for the weather to pass.”
For tips on how to stay safe while driving in the rain, click here.