HACKENSACK, New Jersey (WABC) — A dramatic video showed the moments firefighters in New Jersey jumped into the frigid Hackensack River to save a man whose car plunged into the water.
With the tide coming in quickly, every second mattered.
"You never know when your Super Bowl is, so be ready. Any night could be our Super Bowl," Hackensack firefighter Mike Rainville said.
That night came Monday night for the Hackensack Fire Department after a driver had somehow driven his pickup truck down an embankment, over a bulkhead and into the Hackensack River.
2nd Platoon is located just blocks away and firefighters immediately jumped into action.
"We got there and saw the truck and person in distress," Rainville said.
The vehicle landed upright in the water, but the driver was trapped inside and was struggling to get out.
"He was in obvious distress; he was trying to get out the window, flailing about," Captain Michael Oates said.
"The water was up to his waist around the steering wheel and he was trying to get up on the roof. He was definitely in shock," Captain Kurt Nemeczk said.
Rainville and firefighter Nicholas Webster were the point men to get the 79-year-old driver to safety.
"I hopped down the bulkhead. Hopped over to the car, got hands on the victim, and put him in a PFD. And was initially able to get him to a safe spot and then started our rescue from there," Rainville said.
"We were able to sit him up in the boat and get to the boat ramp and the trailer and get him up to dry ground where EMS was waiting," Nemeczk said.
The driver was taken to the hospital to be checked out.
"A lot of hard work a lot of communication, a lot of moving parts and all of those members should be proud of themselves," Nemeczk said.
The firefighters credit their water rescue training for a save well done.
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