VIDEO: Had the two firefighters swum up to the sinking car any later, the 91-year-old driver might have drowned.
"They didn’t hesitate, and that’s the bottom line," Clearwater Fire & Rescue Assistant Chief Ricky Stasiowski said after Friday’s dramatic rescue.
Medics Paul Sudduth and Andrew Sullivan explained to reporters how they pulled off their quick and timely rescue of driver Harry Hefter.
The incident took place at about 12:03 p.m., according to the Florida Highway Patrol, inside Top of the World, a sprawling 55-and-over community at 2022 Camelot Drive.
Hefter was driving a red 2013 Hyundai Sonata west on Utopian Drive E, east of Utopian Boulevard, the FHP said, when he lost control while turning left into a parking space.