Christmas saved as presents pulled from crashed car by first responders
Bystanders helped get the family out of the car before first responders arrived – but left inside the vehicle were all of the kids' Christmas gifts. They formed a "human chain" and the gifts were passed to deputies, who moved them to dry land.
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00:00 So her phone ended up back there, no telling where the other one is.
00:02 I checked up there where they hit the floor.
00:04 It's under water.
00:05 Yeah.
00:06 Hey, do you have a center punch?
00:07 New video tonight shows the moment deputies formed a human chain to pull gifts one by
00:12 one out of a car in a ditch on Christmas.
00:15 A mother lost control of her SUV and crashed on the side of I-95.
00:20 She and her children went to the hospital leaving all their belongings behind, including
00:24 their Christmas gifts.
00:26 Fox 35's Chris Lindsey shows us how these first responders made sure those gifts made
00:31 it back to the kids.
00:33 These first responders spent their Christmas gathering gifts, but not in the traditional
00:39 sense.
00:40 You need to bust that window?
00:41 The side window so I can get in.
00:43 The group of Ormond Beach firefighters and Volusia deputies were called out to a one-car
00:48 crash on I-95.
00:50 A mother was traveling with her three young children, the oldest just five years old.
00:56 The vehicle ran off the road before hitting a pole and landing in this water-filled ditch.
01:02 Her phone ended up back there.
01:03 There's no telling where the other one is.
01:05 The family was rescued and taken to the hospital.
01:08 They're going to be fine.
01:09 Then first responders moved on to the second priority, the Christmas gifts, which were
01:14 still in the car.
01:15 Hey, Sarge, I got a couple of plastic bags that might work.
01:19 They used a ladder to reach the vehicle and grab the presents as water from the ditch
01:24 was flooding it.
01:29 They got as many of the items out as they could by forming a human chain, passing the
01:33 gifts down.
01:35 All these toys were then delivered to the family at the hospital.
01:40 And though the crash put a damper on their Christmas, the kids still got to open most
01:45 of their presents, along with a few other ones people donated.
01:50 In Volusia County, Chris Lindsey, Fox 35 News.