WEST PALM BEACH, Fla --
Horrified drivers along the turnpike just north of the Palm Beach County line saw a car lose control and plunge into a 2- foot deep canal Sunday. Several Good Samaritans dove into the deep, cold and murky water to rescue the family in the upside down and submerged car. "I pulled over, I ran up, people were yelling 'The car's upside down' so a few of us got in, we got out the man, we got out the woman, and a toddler. There was another girl in there, but we couldn't get her out," said rescuer Rick Falwell.
Falwell and others saved the driver, 28-year-old Richard Whitaker and his 20-year-old passenger Sarah Tandy. They also pulled out two year old Layla Ann Whitaker and performed CPR on the child.
When Palm Beach County Fire Rescue Captain Houston Park arrived at the canal bank, the bank gave way and he fell into the water without his dive gear on yet. "With limited air, I did what I could to remove the child. My diver backed me up and then we were able to remove the baby, " said Park.
Park and his special operations team practice canal dives regularly. They use a special line that lets them talk to each other under water. In this case, with no visibility at all, they were able to remove 4-year-old Lexie Miller from her car seat and then had to struggle to get her to the bank in chest high muck.
Tragically, the two sisters did not survive. "But we did everything we could and the people on the scene did too, to help revive the children, and unfortunately, our efforts were a little late," said Park.
The Florida Department of Transportation is working on a three year project to install cable canal barricades alongside all roadside canals. A spokeswoman tells WPBF 25's Terri Parker they are performing the installations with priority going to areas with the highest amount of traffic incidents. The barricades are already installed in St. Lucie County, Palm Beach County and Miami Dade county. Martin County's installation is scheduled to begin in August.
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