Neighbors help couple after car goes into Cape Coral canal

A husband and wife were able to escape from drowning in a car after it ended up in a canal. Their own quick actions and the virtue of good neighbors saved them from what could have ended in tragedy.

Sunday, Cape Coral Fire Department responded to the report of a car in a canal in Cape Coral.

According to CCFD, a married couple were in a car traveling during a rain storm and had poor visibility. The couple turned into a driveway at the end of a cul-de-sac thinking it was a road over the canal but, instead, ended up in the water. The husband escaped the car and broke a window to let his wife out.

Prior to CCFD arriving, neighbors Terry and Pearl Glenn heard the couple’s call for help and immediately responded.

“The guy was soaking wet. He said ‘I can’t hear; my hearing aid is wet. He said ‘My wife is in the canal,'” Terry said. “I went and I saw a car submerged and a woman laying on her belly laying on top of the car. I jump on the hood on the top of the car, and I said ‘You’re going to be fine … We are getting you out of here.'”

“I ran back to the house to get blankets because hypothermia can be a big problem, especially with the elderly,” Pearl said.

Then, firefighters responded and found the husband on the seawall with his wife on the roof of the car submerged in the canal still.

“So they got a gurney, slid it down the thing, she got on that, took her right off and she was up on her feet and blanket on her and everything and she was fine,” Terry said. “The real hero here is her husband.”

Both were rescued and taken to the hospital to be treated for any potential injuries.

“Each day that we’re given, be grateful,” Pearl said.

The fire department recommends everyone use caution while driving in the rain, especially in areas drivers are not familiar with. They also recommend having an escape tool in the car.

We recently interviewed CCFD and reported on knowing the kind of glass windows cars have for situations like these. AAA reported in a study not all windows will break.

MORE: Knowing what kind of car windows you have could be lifesaving