ORLANDO, Fla. — Calling it quick roadside service would be an understatement.
- Road Ranger pulls driver out of car sinking in retention pond
- Garrett Popovich just became a Road Ranger a few months ago
- "That's what we're out here to do," Popovich said to driver
Just a few months into a new job as a Road Ranger, Garrett Popovich was on routine patrol on State Road 417 near Narcoossee Road on Thursday morning when he saw something on the side of the road.
"To make sure the people that travel Florida's turnpikes and CFX (Central Florida Expressway) roadways are safe, we provide kind of quick, 15-minute services," Popovich said of being a Road Ranger.
This emergency was different: There was a car in a pond, with bystanders parked nearby.
"I remember looking over to the right, and all I see is hand prints on the vehicle that's in the pond, and I said, 'There's somebody still in there,' " Popovich recalled.
Time was not on his side.
"As I was going down to the retention pond, I noticed that the vehicle was sinking, and it was sinking really quickly, and I said, 'The fire department's not going to get here in time,' " Popovich said.
He grabbed a florescent-colored glass breaker, tore off his radio, swam to the white Mustang and busted the passenger window.
That's when he saw the driver, Alex Morales, in chest-deep water inside the car.
"The first question I asked him is, 'Can you swim?' because that was my next fear: I'm going pull him out and we're both going to drown, and he said 'yes,'" Popovich said.
Their wet clothes weighed them down for the swim back to shore, but they made it.
"He saved my life. He's... you know what I mean," Morales said right after he was rescued.
Popovich recalled the first words he said to Morales.
"I said, 'Man, you're lucky,' " he said. When Morales thanked him, "I said, 'No problem; that's what we're out here to do,' " Popovich said.