WALTON COUNTY, Fla. — A sheriff’s deputy in Florida is being called a hero after pulling a man from a submerged truck before responding to another accident where he put out a fire.
The Walton County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release that Deputy Pitoniak and Sgt. Josh Bennett responded on Saturday night after a caller reported seeing a vehicle in the Hogtown Bayou. When the pair arrived on scene, Pitoniak immediately removed his gear and dove into the water to save a man inside the vehicle.
The sheriff’s office posted video from Bennett’s body camera, which shows Pitoniak diving into the dark water and swimming to the truck, which was mostly submerged.
@wcsofl Walton County Sheriff Deputy saves man from submerged truck. #wcsofl #waltoncountyfl #lawencorcement #4upage #waltoncountyflorida #florida #rescue #bodycamera
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The Walton County Sheriff’s Office said the truck’s driver was disoriented and Pitoniak “had to forcefully remove him from the truck, carrying through the water to the dock” where Bennett helped to pull him out of the water.
Pitoniak then returned to the truck to ensure nobody else was trapped inside.
The Walton County Sheriff’s Office said the deputy’s night didn’t end there. After Pitoniak left the scene, but before he could change into dry clothes, he drove by a crash where a vehicle had rolled over in the middle of a highway.
“While still soaked from the previous call, it didn’t stop him from trying to put out a small fire in one of the vehicles involved in the crash and from then meeting deputies where they found the driver of the other vehicle involved in the crash,” the sheriff’s office said in a Facebook post.
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