The driver of a tractor trailer that plunged into a murky canal on Interstate 75 north of Griffin Road this morning escaped serious injury after witnesses pulled him to safety.
The driver apparently lost control of the 18-wheeler shortly after 9:35 a.m., plowed through the railing along the highway, and crashed through a fence before the truck took a dive into the canal and became partially submerged, according to Pembroke Pines police.
Two civilians who witnessed the accident jumped into the canal to pull the driver out to safety and were helped by two Pembroke Pines detectives -- Kenneth Witte and Bernie Kraemer -- who spotted the tanker sinking in the canal and stopped to help.
Witte said the water was murky and diesel fuel floated everywhere.
The driver escaped the confines of the cab on his own and reached the surface while his rescuers scouted the water for him.
The officers then pulled the driver to the banks of the canal. He suffered minor injuries, and seemed coherent, police said.
He was transported to Broward General Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale.
