SC heroes who saved man, baby from submerged car honored + video

Crouched over the back of the rapidly-sinking car in a Hardeeville pond, a hammer in one hand, Justin Hart could hear the driver screaming inside.

"He said 'Get the baby, get the baby! Help!" recalled Hart, who dove into the pond off Honey Hill Road moments after the car plunged into the water last month.

The man inside -- 35-year-old Victor Santana of Hardeeville -- had crawled with his child to the back of the car, away from the water rushing through his smashed windshield, Hart said.

"There wasn't much of an air pocket left," he said.

Hart raised the hammer and brought it down hard, shattering the rear window.

The ensuing pressure quickly sunk the car, but the water swept Santana's 15-month-old son through the opening the hammer made into Hart's arms.

Hart handed the child to another good Samaritan in the pond and pulled Santana out.

Hart, 31, up to his waist in the pond, was preparing to swim the child to the edge when the office manager of his Honey Hill Road business, Lea Hawkins, came outside.

Hawkins said she remembered asking where the car was.

The men were standing on top of it.

And everyone was safe.

Without the quick actions of Hart, Hawkins and the man who witnessed the crash -- and who left before giving his name -- both the father and child would likely be dead, interim fire chief Steve Camp said.

For their roles in the March 5 rescue, Southern Roof and Wood Care employees Hart and Hawkins were honored Thursday evening at the Hardeeville City Council Meeting.

The fire department presented Hart with the Civilian Life-Saving Medal.

Hawkins was awarded the Civilian Meritorious Commendation.

Earlier Thursday, Hart recalled the rescue.

One thought stayed with him long after the father and infant were safe and dry.

"I've got two little ones at home myself, and it's just a scary moment," said Hart, of Pembroke, Ga. "I know if something happened to them, I hope someone would do the same to get them out."

CALL FOR HELP

Hart and Hawkins didn't hear a thing when Santana's car drove off Honey Hill Road into the nearby retention pond just after 4:10 p.m.

They were working inside the Hardeeville office when a man ran inside shouting that a car was sinking in a pond and a baby was inside.

"Before he even got all that out of his mouth, Justin was running down the hall past my office," Hawkins, of Guyton, Ga., said.

The scene that greeted him outside was frightening.

All but a foot and a half of the car were underwater.

Hart threw off his shoes, dove into the cold water and began swimming toward the sinking vehicle.

Once there, he found the doors were either locked or wouldn't open due to the air pressure inside.

He told the other driver to grab something to break the car's windows.

The man returned with the hammer. Inside the business, Hawkins remembered the first-aid training she received for her part-time job working with children with autism.

Rule 1: Call for help.

After reaching 911, the 50-year-old went outside and met Hart at the edge of the pond.

The infant in his hands was fussing, but unhurt.

Hawkins took the boy inside, removed his wet top, shorts and diaper and swaddled him as best she could in a couple of sweatshirts.

"I knew he didn't need to stay in those wet, cold clothes," Hawkins said.

His father then brought the child outside, where rescue workers transported the pair to a local hospital for evaluation, Camp said. They were released the same day, he said.

UNKNOWN HERO

A report on the wreck was not available Thursday from the S.C. Highway Patrol, which investigated the accident.

Santana was charged with driving too fast for conditions and driving without a license, according to court records.

A phone number could not be found for Santana.

He was not seriously hurt in the wreck, though he did cut himself on broken glass.

Camp said he was shocked the injuries were not worse.

He received the call on his first day on the job as interim fire chief.

He first heard over the radio that a car was submerged in a pond with a baby trapped inside.

It was quickly followed by a second message: the car was sinking fast.

"We were all just trying to get there," Camp said.

He was not sure why the other driver left the scene before rescue workers arrived, or why he only gave his first name -- Randy.

However, Camp said, he was grateful the man pulled over and got help.

From Honey Hill Road, other passers-by would never have known there was a car in the water, Camp said.

Just a few minutes after the wreck, there was no sign of the vehicle, save for a few bubbles and a few bits of trash that had floated to the surface.

"Had it not been for the guy we can't identify, nobody would have ever seen this," Camp said.

This story was originally published April 3, 2015 at 10:14 AM with the headline "SC heroes who saved man, baby from submerged car honored + video."