Joann Davis was among the lucky ones.
After her car careened into a canal on the Florida Turnpike in
Wildwood Oct. 7, the Sunrise woman spent 13 hours in the upside-down,
flooded vehicle, breathing from an air pocket before a passing tow
truck spotted the car.
But not all crashes involving water have happy endings.
On that same day, Wilma Headley, 68, of Palm City, died after
her car flipped into a ditch off County Road 714. Rescuers found her
facedown in water, tangled in her seatbelt.
Two weeks later, 26-year-old Lidia Lopez, of Vero Beach, died
with her two young children after their car slid off a dirt road in
Indian River County and landed upside down in a canal.
Local rescue workers agree the best chance of surviving such
crashes is avoiding them. But they say in many cases, basic rescue
tools can mean the difference between life and death.
"You can buy them at any hardware store, and they work," says
Carlos Duran, battalion chief of St. Lucie County Fire-Rescue. "We use
them all the time for emergency work."
His agency, which has responded this year to more than 100 car
crashes involving water, often uses a "center window punch," a
spring-loaded, steel-tipped tool that shatters windows so rescue
workers can get to trapped passengers.
Drivers can find a similar device at several local stores.
Among the most popular tools: the LifeHammer, a steel-tipped hammer
that also contains a razor blade to cut through seatbelts. Weighing
less than five ounces, the tool sells for $24.95.
Chris Donley, a manager at the Driver's Seat auto supply store
in Stuart, says he sells as many as five LifeHammers a week. Local
rescue workers say it doesn't hurt to own one, but the tools should be
used with caution.
"Drivers should stay as calm as possible so they can
concentrate on what to do," Duran says. "You do become disoriented,
especially if the car gets flipped over."
Even in airtight cars submerged in water, drivers can sometimes
breathe from an air pocket for several hours, says Martin County
Fire-Rescue District Chief Jim Loffredo. He adds that drivers need to
be ready to escape before shattering a window.
"When they pop a window to get out, they may lose their air
pocket," he says. "And as soon as they do shatter that window, more
water may rush in."
This year, his agency has responded to more than 400 car
crashes in the county, Loffredo says. Four of them required rescuers to
use dive gear to free passengers from cars submerged in water.
If caught in a crash without a rescue tool, Loffredo says
drivers can try to roll down a window, though it may be jammed if the
side of the car is damaged. Despite fears of being tangled in seatbelts
after a crash, he says it is never a good idea to not wear one.
"A seatbelt will keep (drivers) from being injured even
further," Loffredo says. "That will keep them from getting knocked
unconscious and not being able to get out."
While he encourages drivers to keep rescue tools in their cars, Loffredo says they can't always prevent deaths.
"Lots of times, when people get into a wreck and they're turned
around, they hit their head and they're unconscious," he says. "It
doesn't hurt to have (rescue tools), but they aren't 100 percent."
- rachel.harris@scripps.com
BOX:
LifeHammer
Weighing less than five ounces, the LifeHammer has both a razor
blade to cut through seatbelts and a steel head that shatters windows.
It sells for $24.95 and can be purchased online at www.lifehammersales.com, or by calling 1-888-494-6849.
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