Coast Guard rescue 89-year-old Floridaman from sinking Toyota
Eggs sends us a link to the story from Panama City, Florida where an 89-year-old driver rolled over a roadside barrier and into the Bay with his Japanese Toyota. The Coast Guard happened to be nearby and pulled the driver from the drink.
Panama City Police said the man was in his Toyota Camry around 12:30 p.m. Saturday when he suffered a medical issue that caused him to drive off the southwest side of the St. Andrews Marina.
Coast Guard members aboard Coast Guard Cutter Marlin observed the car go into the water and launched a boat crew to assist the man.
He was treated at a local hospital.
Panama City Firefighters and White’s Wrecker Service also responded to remove the car from the water.
You can watch the video of the rescue at the link above.
Category: Coast Guard
Well done, Coasties. Kudos.
I thought they were the”Hooligan” Navy?
Bravo Zulu, Coasties!
How lucky can a guy get? Help was there when he needed it and he wasn’t driving his mother’s Oldsmobile!
Wonder if the thing floated. More important, WTF is an 89 year old man doing behind the wheel? I know my time is coming and don’t look forward to losing the mobility but at 76 I find my driving abilities declining.
It does say he had a medical issue. He could have been just fine until that occurred.
Of course, a “medical issue” can occur to folks of any age group, it is just more likely the older we get.
I hope I’ll have the good judgment to know when to hang up my keys. Maybe by then self-driving cars will have been perfected.
USCG = Best off and inshore boat handlers in the world. PERIOD.
Florida. 89 years old. Water. Toyota.
Yeah, nothing surprises me anymore. And one more reason I’ll never retire to Florida, as if I needed it.
I retired to South Florida back in 2007 and When my late Aunt who was almost 95 before she passed, could have renewed her drivers license but I drove her around. Amazing to not see the drivers heads above the steering wheels. I would like to see people who reach a certain age take a test to check out their reaction times when driving. I have a lot of patience when I’m behind the wheel and drive defensively. I also carry concealed so I have to be very careful about getting involved in incidents. Basically, it’s common sense. I have a Toyota Rav 4 and love it and hopefully I won’t have to give it the old float test in some canal. Another time I will tell you former Squids about float tests aboard the OKIE 3 (LPH 3).
I don’t let my cat drive any more, because she’s 18, which is close to 100 for people.
It would be nice if we could all rely on someone else to do our driving for us when we get to that point, but that isn’t always possible.
Good thing it was a Japanese Toyota. If it was a Mexican Toyota he would have been dead.
To complicate matters, it’s probably a Japansy Toyota that was made in Bowling Green Kentucky. I recall reading (Newsweek, USAToday, or some other doctors room staple) that Camry’s are the cars that rank the highest in percentage of ‘Made in USA’ parts and labor. It beats out any car from the big three by a good margin, apparently.
That being said, I am a car guy, and I have had to rent several of them for work. I can attest that they are mass produced statements of souless mediocrity and as close to a road-going household appliance as you can get. This one probably will go to the Car God version of Valhalla just by virtue of it not living a completely bland life.
BTW, Good Job Coasties!
Car content and resultant origin is an ongoing debate – at one point the Mazda 6 had more US content than a Ford Crown Vic – and was classified as a domestic while the Ford was technically an import. Camrys are typically assembled in two US plants… and like most Hondas will bore the white off of rice.
Youse Coasties done did good, which is SOP for you. Thanks for the quick action.
The Coasties, the quiet heroes that you rarely ever read about.
Way to go guys.
He’ll probably have a heart attack in a Walmart and someone will use one of those electric paddle DVT things to save his life yet again…
When it’s your turn, it’s your turn, when it ain’t, it just ain’t…
Semper Paratus and consistently proves it to be true
And once again Florida puts the F in WTF.
Damn…Tojo’s still tryin to kill the Greatest Generation!
A Toyota instead of an Arisaka 😉