WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — In honor of law enforcement awareness week, WPTV is going beyond the headlines for the law enforcement side of the story.
The first involves two Indian River County Sheriff's Office deputies who are nominated for the First Responders Appreciation Foundation's LEO Awards.
Deputy Tony Le and Deputy Blake Giordano are being recognized for their quick action when a woman drove her car into a canal along 57th Street in Vero Beach last year.
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The woman was trapped inside her overturned car, and she was dangling by her seat belt. Soon after the accident, the water started spilling into the car and the driver had trouble holding her head out of the water. She was starting to drown.
"I couldn't see anything," Le told WPTV shortly after the rescue. "All the airbags deployed. Everything was covered. The only thing I had was her talking back to me. Luckily, she was still conscious."
Le was the first at the scene. His body camera video captured what happened next.
WATCH BODY CAMERA VIDEO:
"Give me a knife. We gotta cut her out," Le shouted.
Talking to the crash victim, Le later said, "I'm gonna cut that seat belt, OK?"
At the same time, Le was shouting commands to his fellow law enforcement officers and first responders at the scene.
"Get on the radio and tell them what's going on," Le said.
Giordano explained how Le held the woman's head above the water while he went through the back seat to support her until help arrived.
With help from paramedics, Giordano and Le pulled her to safety and got her to a hospital.
The quick and heroic actions of Le and Giordano saved the driver's life.
"If we can save somebody's life, it makes the day better," Le said. "It helps us wake up and go to work the next day."
"It's just my job," Giordano said.