The Sugar Land Fire Department has recognized two residents for rescuing a motorist trapped in a vehicle submerged in water.
A young woman lost control of her vehicle at Avenue E and Dulles Avenue on June 3 at 2 p.m., left the roadway and landed upside down in a drainage ditch filled with water.
As people gathered along the banks of the waterway, Debbie Coyl’e-Larner jumped into the water without hesitation to help the young woman whose head was already submerged. Coyl’e-Larner forced open the door and adjusted the driver’s seat to raise her head above the water’s surface.
Brad Murff and another man followed Coyl’e-Larner into the ditch and unsuccessfully attempted to turn the vehicle back over before all three focused their efforts on removing the trapped driver from her car.
They stayed with the driver until the arrival of firefighters and paramedics.
“I was on my way to work that day,” said Christina Thomas. “Within a few minutes (of landing in the ditch), my car started filling up with water. There was no way I would have been saved if it weren’t for Debbie and the others. I want to thank them.”
Mayor James Thompson, Fire Chief Juan Adame and several SLFD firefighters recognized Coyl’e-Larner and Murff during a regularly scheduled City Council meeting.
