Quick Response Saves Sinking Driver

Early Saturday morning, Key West Police officers acted quickly when a car ran off the road at Simonton Beach and began floating away. Without hesitation, three officers jumped into the water. They confirmed that there was a sole male subject inside the vehicle and worked quickly to free the driver and get him on dry land.

The driver, 41-year-old Michael Lee Grimes, told the officers that he was unfamiliar with the area and had been following another car. When it turned off, he continued straight into the water. The car began to float with the current, trapping Grimes inside the black Dodge Challenger.

The officers saw the car was beginning to fill with water. They broke the window and helped Grimes out of the vehicle.

Key West Fire and Rescue responded to the scene and confirmed that Grimes sustained very minor injuries. Grimes refused medical assistance. The Fire Department immediately put additional divers in the water to assist in further confirming that there were no other people in the sinking car, which had floated a good distance from where it entered the water. The vehicle was tied off the keep it from floating out into the harbor.

“It was fortunate that one of the first officers on scene was a former Special Forces Dive School Training Officer,” said Chief Sean Brandenburg. “Teamwork is vital in a situation that could have been life-threatening.”

During the crash investigation, officers detected a smell of alcohol and conducted a field sobriety test. As a result, Grimes was charged with DUI and transported to the Monroe County Detention Center.

[livemarket market_name="KONK Life LiveMarket" limit=3 category=“” show_signup=0 show_more=0]