Woman Rescued After Car Plunges Into Hackensack River [VIDEO]
Teaneck man helped pull woman from sinking car, witnesses say.
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HACKENSACK -- A carwash employee and an unidentified man pulled a woman from her sinking car after the vehicle plunged into the Hackensack River at a carwash Sunday afternoon, according to witnesses and authorities at the scene.
The woman apparently hit the wrong pedal as she drove out of the wash drive-thru, sending the vehicle into the river and narrowly missing a parked car around 3:30 p.m., authorities and witnesses said.
Employee John Goez, a Teaneck resident, and another man at Spotless Auto Laundries, near the East Anderson Street bridge, immediately jumped into the river and brought the woman to safety as water flooded the sinking car, said Willie Goez, John’s brother and the carwash manager.
Willie Goez said the car was almost entirely submerged within minutes.
Authorities said the woman was treated at Hackensack University Medical Center, but not seriously hurt. Her condition was not available Sunday night.
Hackensack firefighters in a boat searched inside to make sure no one was trapped and had to secure the car so it would not be swept away. Fire crews attached a cable allowing a heavy-duty tow truck to hoist the car from the river.
Click the video above to watch the incident unfold on security camera footage.
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Diane Schwarz
4:02 pm on Monday, July 23, 2012
How was it that someone was filming that spot, from just before she made that move? Will they refund her wash money?
NJP
6:53 pm on Monday, July 23, 2012
Cell phone camera + surveillance monitor + playback button....
If she uses their $19.99 per month unlimited washes, she just has to get back in line...lol.
DMAB6395
6:55 pm on Monday, July 23, 2012
Diane, Really???? That's there security camera & why would they refund her money????
John Santaella
7:42 pm on Monday, July 23, 2012
A lot of car wash establishments have ''rain'' policies whereby if it rains within 24 hours of a car wash you get a refund. Maybe this comes under their umbrella policy.
I'm happy to hear the woman was not seriously hurt.
Al Czervik
10:21 am on Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Senior driving is a serious issue that is only getting worse. It’s a travesty that the AARP manipulates law makers on a state and federal level to block any initiative to force retesting of senior drivers. All drivers starting at age 60 should be required to submit to an eye, hearing and reflex test every other year as well as be required to take a formal road test every five years. In July of 2009 on a clear sunny day an elderly women drove the wrong way on Rt. 21 in Clifton and killed one woman and seriously injured others. Her only defense was that she was confused. This is just one of a hundred examples I can give from across the country. The state has done an admirable job in recent years amending the rights and rules for teenage drivers but due to the corruption of special interest groups like the AARP common sense and public safety have been stepped on.
John Santaella
11:48 am on Wednesday, July 25, 2012
I heartily agree. There should be regular testing for seniors. I speak as a senior also. I also do not belong to AARP so they don't speak for me.
My late grandfather-in-law was legally blind yet managed to have his license renewed just on the basis of his doctor saying he had had an eye exam. It didn't state he was blind, just that he had an eye exam.
Paul M
3:17 pm on Thursday, July 26, 2012
Luckily my Dad moved to assisted living and sold (me) his car. His driving was getting scary, though a little prayer before getting in a car as a passenger isn't the worst thing!
Paul M
3:19 pm on Thursday, July 26, 2012
P.S. what...no fence at the car wash? Just an alternate route to get your car some water there?
Art Vatsky
8:18 pm on Thursday, July 26, 2012
Yeah, I am an AARP member but wasn't aware of their policy toward senior driver testing. I am a senior. I enjoy driving when I have to drive. I want to keep driving safely as long as I can. I think it is a matter of statistics. When the accidents due to elderly drivers gets too high, the politicians will act. Either that, or when some of their loved ones are injured in an accident caused by a senior's "confusion".
GJD
2:33 pm on Sunday, July 29, 2012
Where does it mention that she is an elderly woman? Did I miss it? From what I read, it just mentioned a woman who hit the wrong pedal....A bone headed move, no doubt, but really? Assume its an old person?
John Santaella
4:08 pm on Sunday, July 29, 2012
In the original story one of the rescuers said: "I thought of my own mother" That paints a fairly good picture.
Al Czervik
9:02 am on Monday, July 30, 2012
Elizabeth Moore is 82.
billyubob
11:21 am on Monday, July 30, 2012
So Sorry to se that happen. NOw lets see it from the lawyers view! CAR WASH @ fault no guard rail or fencing....Have a nice DAY;)