Latest details on Phoenix police rescuing a man trapped in his car in a swimming pool
PHOENIX (NBC, KYMA/KECY) - Body cam video shows the moment Phoenix police officers rescued a man trapped in a car in a swimming pool on October 31.
"I found the car. It's inside the pool. I'm trying to see there's anybody inside now," said Anthony Lara, a Phoenix police officer.
Lara was only two blocks away when several 911 calls rang in reporting a man trapped inside a car underwater near 35th Avenue and Indian School Road.
"There's really no training for something like this. You just have to take in account what you have, the information that was provided to you and just use common sense," Lara shared.
Using a pry bar, Lara smashed the sunroof open and pulled the man above water.
"As soon as I lift him, you could hear him take that big gasp of air...Just based off of that, I think he was running out of time. I think 30 seconds more, and God forbid, it would have been something totally different," Lara detailed.
Police say the man is safe now, but it's unclear what led up to the accident. The man allegedly told officers he hit the gas pedal instead of the brake and landed in the deep end of an apartment complex pool.
"He was still kind of in shock when I was talking to him so I don't know if the accelerator got stuck which led led him to go into the pool but yeah it was kind of like a freakish accident that happened," said Mark Borbon, another Phoenix police officer.
Lara was in the right place, at the right time to save the man.
"He's breathing. That's all I cared about, honestly," Lara expressed.
But to him, it was just another night on the job.
"Tony here had no problem putting his life on the line because entering water with a vehicle, it could shift, he could fall in. There's many things that could happen and disregarding his own safety, he decided to put that citizen's life ahead of his which is an amazing achievement and I'm very proud of him for that," said Sgt. Michael Guadagnino with the Phoenix Police Department (PPD).
