A hero who saved a trapped driving instructor from a car submerged in floodwater says he was ‘shocked’ to see a firefighter walking away from the sinking vehicle.
Jamie Price and his partner Danielle, both 32, bravely waded into the deep water of a ford to rescue the motorist because they ‘thought he was going to die’ when they arrived at the scene in Ingatestone, Essex on Sunday.
Emergency services were in attendance, but could not enter the water because they had to wait for specialist crews who were trained for the water depth.
Footage of the incident shows how the driver was left stranded with water ‘up to his chest’ while a fireman watched on and said: ‘Yeah, he’s on the phone… he’s alright.’
Speaking today, Mr Price spoke of his disbelief at seeing this firefighter leaning on a fence whilst on the phone, before then walking away from the scene as the man was still stuck in the car.
The filmmaker told Good Morning Britain: ‘Once they walked away after speaking to him, I was kinda shocked by that.
‘I thought you are leaving a guy in the car who is submerged up to his chest. The people behind the camera they were a good 60-70 metres away.’
Filmmaker Jamie Price (left) and his partner Danielle (right) told Good Morning Britain today they were shocked to see the firefighter walking away from the scene of a driving instructor trapped inside a flooded car
Footage shows a fireman leaning on a fence while the driving instructor is stranded in his car
The learner car was completely submerged in the deep water as the couple intervened to help
Mr Price had saved dozens of people in the same ford before and feared the specialist crews would not arrive in time because they were coming from Colchester, which is why he and Danielle decided to take action.
Speaking to the ITV show today, he said: ‘I stood there and thought I can’t leave the guy. I’m going to try the basics. I pulled the rear handle and realised it was locked and I said to him “try your handle”, which is what he did and that’s how we got the door open.
‘It was quite simple to get in, but with the risks to the fire service they are just not allowed to.’
Whilst shocked by their actions, Mr Price said he understood it was a difficult situation for the fire and rescue crews, adding: ‘I don’t think we were reckless personally. Although the firefighters did a fantastic job, including the ones who turned up.
‘They are very limited with resources and that was apparent here. We had two firefighters turn up to help the guy. But there hands were tied.’
Two Essex fire and rescue crews, an ambulance and a police car were parked near the stricken vehicle, but could not enter the water because they had to wait for specialist crews who were trained for the water depth.
Despite the man’s vehicle floating in the water, the fireman can be seen leaning on a fence and saying on his radio: ‘He’s over the steering wheel, but he’s alright. He can’t open the windows.’
Mr Price said that the fire brigade was telling him not to help, but he decided to anyway because the motorist looked like he was going to drown.
Mr Price explained to Good Morning Britain this morning how he saved the driving instructor from the sinking car
The couple managed to get the instructor out of the water and then took him to the emergency workers
Crews from Essex Fire and Rescue, as well as an ambulance and police car were at the scene
When the driving instructor was rescued by Mr Price and his partner, he can be heard shouting: ‘I’m going to sink!’.
Speaking to yesterday, Mr Price said: ‘He [the driving instructor] was still on the phone to the operator at the time when I got him out. When I got him out he was dazed and he wasn’t thinking clearly. That’s how I knew he was in shock.
‘It’s a very, very, very dangerous ford, probably the most dangerous ford in the country if I’m completely honest at the moment.’
In a statement, Essex County Fire and Rescue said: ‘Crews who arrived at the incident at Buttsbury Wash found a car stuck in over 1.2 metres of floodwater.
‘Because of the depth, these crews requested additional support from our specialist water team while they remained at the scene to ensure the driver was safe. The driver got out of the car themselves.
‘Our advice for motorists is not to drive through floodwater. Essex County Fire and Rescue Service is committed to making Essex a safe place to live, work, and travel. We want to help prevent and reduce incidents like this occurring.
‘Please do not drive through flood water. You don’t know how deep it could be, and you could put yourself and others at risk. Always find an alternative route.’