FALMOUTH, MASS. (WHDH) - A retired Bridgewater fire chief rescued a woman Wednesday night after her car plunged into the ocean off a beach in Falmouth.
Officers responding to a report of a vehicle in the water in the area of Maravista Avenue and Menauhant Road about 6:57 p.m. found the car upright and just beyond the waterline, according to Falmouth police.
Police say the car was traveling at a high rate of speed and did not stop at a stop sign.
The 28-year-old woman who had been driving the car had already been helped out by retired Bridgewater Fire Chief George Rogers, who witnessed the crash on his way home from dinner.
“It was pitch black. You couldn’t see anything,” Rogers said. “She was in reverse trying to back out, but there was no way she was going to get out. She was in the surf.”
As Rogers’ wife dialed 911, he ran to help.
“I went around to the driver’s side, banging on the windows. She eventually opened the driver’s window and was trying to come out feet first, but the way the waves were, we couldn’t get her out,” Rogers said. “Then pushed her back and reached to the back door and got it unlocked and pulled her out the back. She was pretty distraught.”
Rogers’ training came in handy Wednesday night.
“Thirty-five years on the job. This is what firefighters do. We’re always on duty. I can say for all my firefighter brothers and sisters out there, anyone would’ve jumped in. That’s what we do,” Rogers said.
The operator and sole occupant of the vehicle was transported to a local hospital with what were considered non-life-threatening injuries, according to police.
The crash remains under investigation.
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