Off-duty Florida deputies pull woman from sinking SUV

Two deputies were off the clock, but that didn't stop them from carrying out a dramatic rescue.  

The two sergeants with the Osceola County Sheriff's Office didn't think twice about jumping into a retention pond to rescue a woman from her sinking car.  Now, Sgt. Marchus Bryan and Sgt. Grattan Heyward are being hailed as heroes. It just so happens they were on their way to work Wednesday morning, when they heard the 911 call for help.

"It's in the water sir, the airbags have gone off, the SUV is in the water," a 911 caller told the dispatcher.

A driver had lost control and run off of Kings Highway in Kissimmee.  You can still see the tire marks where it veered off the roadway, crashing into a retention pond and quickly submerging in the water.  Karen Haynes witnessed the whole incident.

"The car was just sinking, further and further down into the pond, and that's when I heard the sirens so I knew help was on the way," she said.

However, the sergeants were first on scene, arriving before Osceola County Fire Rescue, breaking a window to get inside the sinking car and pull the woman out.

"They did not hesitate, they just dove right in and saved that woman's life," explained Haynes.

"They immediately took off whatever gear they had on them that was sensitive and went into the water," said Major Jacob M. Ruiz, with the Sheriff's Office.  

The woman was unconscious when she was pulled out, but rescue crews were able to revive her.

"It feels really good when we can say that we saved a life," Ruiz added. 

In a picture snapped shortly after the rescue, you can see their shirts still wet from the water. It was a moment witnesses say they won't soon forget

"It was the most amazing thing, very proud moment," Haynes said.