Marion County Fire Rescue spokesman James Lucas said they received the call at 1:58 a.m. and the first unit arrived at 2:04 a.m.
Later Friday morning, the other driver who tried to help, Shawn Drake, and his mother, Dawn Drake, described the harrowing experience.
She said he called 911 and called her, waking her up, and she and the man’s aunt went to the scene to help.
At first, Dawn Drake said, she couldn’t see Runyon so she walked around to the front of the car on the driver’s side. The Buick was surrounded by water at the time.
As she walked around the car, she said, “Down I went into 10 feet of water. ... I was hanging on for dear life.”
She was clinging to the front driver’s side tire and the front door, which was open.