A Fisherville, Ont., man who rescued a driver from a sinking car that plunged into Hamilton Harbour says he was running on “adrenaline” when he decided to jump into freezing water to help.
Amid a late-night fishing trip with a friend at Bayfront Park on Thursday night, Shawn Farquharson says he was taken aback when he and his buddy saw the sedan in the water around 9:30 pm. not far from a boat launch.
The pair ran some 20 meters to get a closer look at the startling crash before Farquharson made the decision to strip down to his undergarments for a demanding rescue.
“I couldn’t watch him die. I had to do something. No one else could go in so it fell on me,” he told 900 CHML’s Good Morning Hamilton.
With a small group of people from the shore imploring the driver to exit the car, the 26-year-old made the decision to get into the water when he noticed the cab filling up with water.
“When I first reached into the car, I kind of felt around for the seatbelt just to make sure that wasn’t around,” Farquharson explained.
“Luckily, it kind of slipped right off of him. … I started pulling and got his head out first. … I just pulled and he slipped right out of there.”
After dragging the at-risk man onto the roof of the vehicle, Farquharson began chest compressions while plugging the driver’s nose and blowing into his mouth despite not having CPR training.
Police would arrive minutes later, which was a “tremendous” relief for Farquharson who was then joined by an officer who also leaped into the water.
The pair would make their way onto a small civilian boat with the help of a police sergeant to make a short trip to the shore.
Paramedics transported the driver to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Farquharson says that since the incident, his phone has been “blowing up” with messages of praise.
“It’s crazy how many people are so amazed by such behaviour. Just honestly, I see it as something that anybody should and would do,” he said.
Police say an investigation into the cause of the crash is still ongoing.
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