Photo by: wsvn
The Broward Sheriff’s Office released 911 call audio of the moment witnesses alerted first responders to a driver who came to a splashing stop in a canal in Tamarac.
“911, what is the address of the emergency?” the dispatcher asked.
“I just saw a car drive into a pond,” a witness told dispatchers.
That was the emergency call that sent BSO deputy Juliana Tenaglia into action, just minutes after her overnight shift began, Monday evening.
“So I was going to roll call and I heard the call come out for a vehicle that had crashed into the canal,” said Tenaglia.
“Vehicle drove into the pond,” the dispatcher said.
Tenaglia, a member of BSO’s dive team after just completing her training, rushed to the scene near Northwest 81st Street and 91st Avenue.
“As soon as I got here, I saw the driver was hanging off the side of the vehicle, the vehicle was maybe halfway submerged and, on the way here, they already said that the driver did not know how to swim,” said Tenaglia.
Despite not being fully equipped for a dive mission, she grabbed the essentials from her cruiser and raced for the water, knowing time was of the essence.
“I did go in with my regular uniform. I just didn’t have my gun belt and my vest on. That way, I just threw on, my dive team stuff is already ready in the back of my car, so I just went there, put on my fins and entered the water,” said Tenaglia.
The driver of that submerged SUV told 7News he was on his way to the dealership to take his Jeep in for maintenance. A picture he shared with 7News showed the alert on his Jeep’s dashboard to check the engine and service power steering.
He said his steering wheel locked up on him, causing him to veer off the roadway and into the canal. Luckily, the car avoided crashing into the railing.
Some residents who were walking by when it happened noticed all of the rescue teams and spoke with the driver.
“I told him, ‘Happy to see that he’s OK and that if it had to happen, it happened at the perfect place,’” said a witness.
Nobody was hurt in the crash, thanks in part to Tenaglia’s selfless efforts and invaluable training to help in the moment.
“That felt good that I’m like, ‘OK, I trained for this,’ and I know when I get here, like, ‘Alright, I know I trained for this, I know I can do it.’ That’s a good feeling to have that confidence level,” said Tenaglia.
Dive teams got into the canal twice: The first time to help the driver out and the second to remove the submerged SUV.
The driver wanted to speak with 7News to describe his ordeal behind the wheel, but decided to hold off as he considers taking possible legal action.
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Source: wsvn
