PHOENIX — A trio of Phoenix Police officers are being recognized for their heroic actions to save a man who was trapped in a car under water.
Officer Anthony Lara said he was only a couple of blocks away from an apartment complex near 35th Avenue and Indian School Road when several 911 calls rang in reporting a man drove his car into a swimming pool.
Lara was the first officer to respond.
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“There’s really no training for something like this. You just have to take in account what you have, the information that was provided to you and just use common sense," Lara said.
The car was fully submerged under six feet of water by the time Lara and two other officers were able to jump into action.
Lara used a pry bar to smash the sunroof open and pull the man above water.
The rescue was captured on several officers' body-worn cameras.
“As soon as I lift him, you could hear him take that big gasp of air," Lara said. “Just based off of that, I think he was running out of time. I think 30 seconds more and God forbid it would have been something totally different.”
Police said that man is safe, but it's unclear what led up to the accident.
The man allegedly told officers he hit the gas pedal instead of the brake and landed in the deep end of the pool.
“He was still kind of in shock when I was talking to him. So, I don’t know if the accelerator got stuck, which led led him to go into the pool, but yeah, it was kind of like a freakish accident that happened," Officer Mark Borbon said.
Officers said the man told them he tried to call for emergency help from the inside the car, but did not try to break a window or open the door.
These officers were in the right place, at the right time to save the man, but for them, it was just another night on the job.
“Tony here, had no problem putting his life on the line, because entering water with a vehicle, it could shift, he could fall in. There’s many things that could happen, and disregarding his own safety, he decided to put that citizen’s life ahead of his, which is an amazing achievement, and I’m very proud of him for that," Sgt. Michael Guadagnino said.
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