Man, 76, helps rescue 2 after car crashes through his fence and into his pool

NORTH LAUDERDALE, Fla. (WSVN) - A Florida homeowner sprang into action to rescue two people after an SUV crashed through his fence and into his swimming pool.

William Marts, 76, says he heard a loud noise while inside his North Lauderdale home Friday afternoon.

“We heard this tremendous crack. I thought the lightning struck right beside the house. I went up to look, and it looked like a tidal wave right across my pool,” Marts said.

Behind that tidal wave came a silver Ford Explorer into his pool, which is 4 feet deep.

“I went ‘Holy Jesus!’” Mart said.

The homeowner jumped into the pool to first check on the driver then a little girl in the back of the SUV.

“He was breathing and drooling, but at least, he was breathing,” Marts said.

As he was helping, a detective with the Broward Sheriff’s Office, who was on her way home, stopped and also jumped into the pool.

“She was tremendous,” Marts said.

The pair broke the SUV window to get the driver and girl out. Arriving first responders took them to the hospital, and deputies say they are expected to be OK.

Unfortunately, Marts also ended up at the hospital due to a high blood pressure spell.

“I’m 76. It was a little much. And my heart’s going ‘bla, bla, bla, bla, bla,’” he said.

Marts is physically OK after the incident, but mentally, he says he needs to see something done to protect the corner he lives on. He says the cars at the intersection of Rock Island Road and Southgate Boulevard have had too many close calls with his home.

“We have an accident every weekend here. They’ve gone through my fence seven times,” Marts said. “We need something besides wooden fences to stop that.”

Marts’ family is sick of the cars crashing through the property. They are asking the city for help to prevent it from happening again.

“We’ve been asking them for years for a concrete fence with some rebar in there to stop,” said Marts’ daughter, Kim Chamberlain.

In a matter of hours after the incident, dive teams removed the SUV from Marts’ pool by hooking it up then lifting it up and over and towing it away.

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