Two men honored for saving man who drove into a canal
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AMMON — It was like a scene from a movie — a car shooting into a canal and becoming submerged while the driver remained trapped inside.
The two men who dove in to save the driver say their response wasn’t out of bravery or fear, but instead instinct.
“I don’t think I did anything special. I think I did what any human being would do in that situation,” Joseph Shaw says.
Ammon municipal workers Joshua Hart, a fiber optic field supervisor, and Joseph Shaw, a fiber technician and construction worker, were on their way home from work in the Eagle Point neighborhood when they stumbled upon the accident.
“We turned right onto 17th street headed east and we noticed two cars pull off the side of the road so we thought they’d been in an accident, but (then) we saw them get out,” Shaw says. “We realized that somebody had driven off into the canal.”
Shaw and Hart parked their truck in the road to block oncoming traffic and make space at the scene. As they approached the canal they saw the roof of the car but were unsure if anyone remained inside.
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“We looked in the window and there was, sure enough, someone sitting in there,” Shaw says. “We left both our belongings on the bank of the canal and we both jumped in.”
Initially, the pair tried to communicate with the driver, but he wasn’t responding. Shaw says he seemed incoherent and unaware. No one else was inside the vehicle, so the two were having a hard time getting permission to break the windows. Unsuccessful in their communication efforts, Shaw and Hart were pressed to take action.
“It wasn’t submerged quite at first. As the current of the water pushed it sideways it got submerged a little bit further,” Hart says. “We definitely know we had to get him out at that point.”
In the nick of time, a bystander threw Hart a hammer so he could bust into the car through the back window.
“I was able to break the back window, get into the car, unlock the doors,” Hart says. “Reached upfront… unbuckled him, (and) pulled him out of the car.”
Hart and Shaw were surprised at the depth of the canal saying it reached about five feet. They say they were in the water about 25 minutes.
“The great part about it is through this whole entire thing the fire department was arriving, the officers were arriving so I guess that’s a comfort to know. Even if we weren’t there he still would have made it. It still would have been an okay scenario,” Hart says.
The two men haven’t seen or spoken with the driver since the incident in July, but are now being awarded for their efforts.
“Just in the right place at the right time. We work with great guys, and a great community so being given the opportunity to help was a good feeling for us,” Hart says. “To do the right thing, it’s not a hard thing to do.”
Hart and Shaw are being recognized for their heroism Thursday at a city of Ammon council meeting at 2135 S. Ammon Road, at 7 p.m. The public is welcome to attend.