MARTIN COUNTY — A Sebastian man jumped into chilly waters Friday to pull a pregnant woman from her sinking car after it plunged into a pond off Interstate 95, and hours later she gave birth to her child, authorities and witnesses said.
Logan Hayes was driving to work near Stuart around 7:45 a.m. when he spotted the vehicle submerged near the Gatlin Boulevard exit by a weigh station. “As I was driving by, I saw this car in the pond,” Hayes told WPBF-TV. The car was sinking fast, so he leaped in, swam to it and hauled the woman to safety.
Hayes later found out the driver was pregnant. Martin County Fire Rescue crews arrived minutes after and transported her to HCA Florida Lawnwood Hospital in Fort Pierce with serious injuries. Divers from the agency checked the water to ensure no one else was inside the vehicle.
“Great teamwork by all responding units and the citizens on scene,” Martin County Fire Rescue said in a statement.
The woman, whose name was not immediately released, delivered her baby later that day, according to reports from the scene. Authorities did not disclose details about the cause of the crash or the conditions of the mother and child.
The incident happened in cold weather, with Hayes describing the water as frigid but acting without hesitation.