Jacksonville, Fla. – A dramatic rescue – caught on camera.
A group of Jacksonville Flag football players drove their car into a pond at Arlington Park to rescue a man.
“We all jumped into the water and followed him there,” said player Eberon Brown.
The video has been shared hundreds of thousands of times on social media and players are being praised for their quick thinking in helping the man out alive.
It all started as their weekly match-up at Blue Cypress Park on Saturday. The game quickly turned into defense.
“It was a regular day around noon,” referee Sean Battles said. “I was restarting the game and one of the guys pointed out that there was a car here.”
Then all of them swung into action to help the stranger.
A white car, with the driver still inside, was rushing to the middle of a nearby pond.
Cell phone videos captured the moments after several players jumped and pushed the car closer to the ground.
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Justin Johnson and Brown, along with their teammates and opponents, rushed to help.
Brown said he was thinking, “Save her. Honestly, just save her.”
They could not open windows or doors. Just then a man climbed through an opening in the trunk to help the driver out.
“He didn’t want to come out. He had a grip on that steering wheel so we sat there fighting. I know he didn’t want to let go, he was telling us to let him go, but we don’t.” Let it happen,” Johnson said.
“We’ve got you. It’s okay, it’s okay,” he told the driver.
Eventually, they pulled the man safely until first responders reached the scene.
Players have a message for the person sitting in the car.
“That we love you. Come out here and play with us. We’re a family. We don’t judge anyone,” Johnson said.
The men News4JAX spoke to wanted to let the man and his family know that they are keeping him in their thoughts and prayers.
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A family member of the person said that the person is expected to recover physically.
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