Fla. Firefighter Tries to Save Sheriff's Aide

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. --

Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue Capt. Roy Morgan wasn't an emergency responder -- he was the first responder -- when he tried to come to the rescue of a sheriff's office community service aide who crashed his cruiser into a canal Tuesday morning.

"It went off the road and hit the embankment of the canal and flipped over and landed on its roof in the water," Morgan told WPBF News 25's Alexis River.

The community service was traveling east on Southern Boulevard near Hatton Highway when he somehow lost control of the car.

Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said the driver went over the median, overcompensated, lost control of the car and crashed into the canal.

That's when Morgan's 15 years of training kicked in. He recruited a good Samaritan and assembled a makeshift tow truck to crank the cruiser out of the canal.

"I dove back down to the vehicle and was able to hook onto the trunk deck of the vehicle and, using a four-wheel drive pickup truck, we pulled the vehicle to the side of the canal," Morgan said.

By then paramedics had arrived, but it wasn't enough. The aide had been submerged in water for at least 30 minutes. He was taken to Delray Medical Center, where he died.

"We all need to be aware of how to save ourselves because it doesn't matter who's there, what's at your disposal, how much training you've had, there are just times when everything you do, it's not enough," Morgan said.

The victim's identity has not been released.

Copyright 2009 by WPBF.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.