Florida couple rescued from sinking car after late-night crash in Martin County canal

A Florida couple were rescued after their vehicle sank in a canal following a late-night crash on Route 714 in Northwest Martin County. The two were traveling around 10:30 p.m. Friday when another vehicle struck them, pushing their car off the road and into a canal where it landed upside down, authorities said. The other vehicle fled the scene.

The woman's emergency call to the Martin County Sheriff's Office was the first public evidence of the ordeal. The recording released Tuesday shows the couple's pleas as the dispatcher asks whether the car is still above water and how deep it is. "Please! We need you," the woman can be heard telling the dispatcher, who asks if the car is sinking. "Yes!" she replies, in tears. "That's what it feels like. The car is sinking, sir." When asked how high the water is, she says it is "up to my stomach." "We don't know how much time we have!" she adds, noting the power in the car is out and they cannot open the doors or windows. After about 10 minutes, the call drops before responders can pinpoint their exact location in the canal.

Deputies arrived in near darkness and initially had difficulty locating the submerged car off the road. They eventually heard a car horn and pushed through waist-deep water, cutting through vines as they closed in on the vehicle. Officers shattered its windows and pulled the couple to safety as the horn continued to blare.

"In times of such crisis, we have warriors," the Martin County Sheriff's Office said, praising dispatchers and deputies for their quick, lifesaving work. Both victims were injured but are expected to fully recover, authorities said. Investigators remained at the scene Sunday to identify the other vehicle involved in the crash and determine how it fled.