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Florida

Good Samaritans rescue Florida woman, 81, who was in nearly-submerged SUV for 10 hours

By Robert Gearty Fox News
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An elderly Florida woman spent 10 hours in the water in a nearly-submerged SUV before being rescued by two good Samaritans.

“We are pleased to see a happy ending to such a potentially tragic situation,” Venice, Fla., police said in a statement Thursday after the woman was hospitalized in stable condition.

She wound up in the water around 9:30 p.m. Wednesday after accidentally driving down a boat ramp in a Volkswagen Golf GTI, police said.

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Police in Venice, Fla., reported a happy ending to such a potentially tragic situation Thursday after an 81-year-old woman was rescued after spending 10 hours in a nearly-submerged vehicle.

Police in Venice, Fla., reported a happy ending to such a potentially tragic situation Thursday after an 81-year-old woman was rescued after spending 10 hours in a nearly-submerged vehicle. (City of Venice)

The Sarasota resident wasn’t rescued until 7:30 a.m. Thursday when Rob Goodman, a former Iowa reserve deputy, and Ed Coster, a retired New York City firefighter, came across her, according to FOX13 Tampa.

Goodman had shown up at the boat ramp to go kayaking. Coster had gone there to go paddleboarding.

“I peered in the window and she was literally, had just a little bit of air and her face was against the roof, trying to breathe,” Coster told FOX13 Tampa.

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“She was cold, of course, you know, so I just held on to her,” Goodman told the station after they got her out of the SUV.

Good Samaritans Rob Goodman, left, and Ed Coster after rescuing a 81-year-old woman who spent 10 hours in the water in a nearly-submerged vehicle in Venice, Fla.

Good Samaritans Rob Goodman, left, and Ed Coster after rescuing a 81-year-old woman who spent 10 hours in the water in a nearly-submerged vehicle in Venice, Fla. (Fox 13 Tampa)

Venice Fire Chief Shawn Carvey said the woman was fortunate.

“The odds were definitely stacked against her you know when you look at being in the water that long for over 10 hours,” he told the station.

Coster said he happened to be at the boat ramp only by happenstance.

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“I really believe God put me here for a purpose, so it’s nice to see that I guess we think of our lives are just about ourselves, but we don’t realize that we’re often here for other people as well,” he told FOX13.