Good Samaritan saves Lehigh Acres woman’s life after her car careened into a canal

A man and a woman now have an unbreakable bond.

He jumped over a barbed-wire fence and into a canal to save her life.

Thanksgiving night, the woman crashed her car off of I-75 in Collier County.

The rescuer says he was merging onto a nearby ramp on his way to work his night shift. He watched the woman lose control of her car, and made the call to step in and save her life.

“When she hit that sharp embankment, it just sent that car 30 feet up in the air,” said Darren Bourlet. Right after that, he says, her car plunged straight into the canal.

“By the time I got to the vehicle, it was completely underwater. Luckily the hood was white, so I could see the reflection of it,” said Bourlet.

Even in the pitch-black darkness, he knew exactly what he needed to do.

“I called 911,” he said.

But he knew there was no time to waste with someone trapped in a submerged car and in danger.

So what was going through his mind?

“You think of your daughters and grandchildren and loved ones it’s not even a thought. You got to do what’s right,” he said.

He jumped over the fence and into the water.

“I started jumping on the front windshield; that didn’t work. Then I went to the back and the back windshield it eventually gave in,” said Bourlet.

He managed to get the woman safely out of the water before first responders even got to the scene.

“I was worried there were more people in the vehicle and I said ‘Uno?’ and she said ‘Solo,’ so I knew she was by herself,” he said.

What could have potentially been a deadly situation turned into a lifesaving one.

“Not every day you get the chance to save a life,” said Bourlet.

It’s a Thanksgiving neither of them will ever forget.

“I’m glad I was there,” said Bourlet. “I feel blessed.”

Both the woman and Bourlet are doing great.

Investigators say the 53-year-old Lehigh Acres woman escaped with no injuries. Bourlet says he had minor cuts on his hands and legs.

The woman told investigators she lost control when an animal jumped in front of her and she swerved to avoid it.