Port St. Lucie - Monday June 12, 2023: Port St. Lucie Police Officers rescued an 87-year-old man Friday night, moments before the vehicle rolled over onto him and into a canal.
The man had run off the roadway down the embankment, nearly into the canal. He called his family on his cell phone, and the family in turn contacted authorities.
Port St. Lucie Police Department Officers and St. Lucie County Sheriff Deputies responded to the scene at 11:45 p.m. The SLC Sheriff's Office was able to track the man to the Veranda Falls area on Becker Road, but they did not have a precise location.
PSLPD K9 Officer Corey Krecic and Officer Rob Perkins began to canvass the area on foot as the SLCSO Air Unit was searching from above.
CLICK HERE to view the SLCSO Air Unit video of the rescue: https://fb.watch/l6YxA6GW8E/
"Thankfully our pilot and helicopter were in the right place and time to assist PSLPD in this harrowing rescue of this 87-year-old man," said SLC Sheriff Ken Mascara.
Miraculously, the Officers and Air Unit spotted the man who had gotten out of his car and was climbing up the C-23 canal bank as his vehicle was about to rollover on top of him.
K9 Officer Krecic and Officer Perkins climbed down the steep canal bank to safely rescue the man from beneath his vehicle and within feet of the water.
The man was not injured. He was taken to the hospital as a precaution.