81-year-old woman alive after being trapped in submerged car for 10 hours

VENICE, Fla. (WISH) — An 81-year-old woman is lucky to be alive after she was found trapped overnight inside a sinking car.

Every Thursday morning, Rob Goodman launches his kayak to go fishing at Higel Marine Park in Venice, Florida. This Thursday was different.

“I was probably about right here when I noticed the car because it was just becoming daylight,” said Goodman.

Goodman said he could only see part of the car’s roof. The rest was underwater.

He was able to flag down a paddleboarder nearby, and that’s when they realized someone was inside the vehicle.

“We got right about here when her hand came out the window,” said Goodman.

The two men happened to be a former firefighter and a former reserve deputy. They called for help but their instincts took them into the water to get her out.

“I got underneath her arms and pulled her up and I just set her in my lap and just held onto her,” said Goodman.

Surveillance video from the area shows the woman’s car going into the water around 9:30 the night before. She was in the water for nearly 10 hours with only inches of breathing room when the men found her.

“The car was starting to move when our units got there, it was starting to float away,” said Venice Fire Department Chief Shawn Carvey.

Fire crews say the two men are heroes.

“It’s lucky she was found when she was found because otherwise it could’ve been much worse,” said Carvey.

Goodman says he’s just thankful the woman is going to be OK and he was glad he was in the right place at the right time.

“There must have been a reason because there was nobody else here, just him and I so I thank the Lord that she’s good,” said Goodman.

CNN contributed to this report.