Man rescued from Cape Coral canal after crashing truck into the water

A truck fully submerged in a canal off Northwest 9th Terrace in Cape Coral was easy to spot from the air and land on Wednesday.

Dale Raleigh was just about to start his day when he heard an unmistakable sound.

“Sounded like somebody throwing a basketball in a bathtub. It just went pow,” said Dale Raleigh.

That splash was the truck crashing into the canal. Raleigh rushed outside to see what happened and see if he could help.

“By the time I got here, I can see he was struggling, trying to get out. But I see he busted the windshield. So I thought about getting in there to help him, but at that time, he climbed out of the driver’s side window,” Raleigh said.

The driver said he was the only one in the car. Once Cape Coral firefighters got to the canal, they put the ladder in and got him out.

Then the pressing issue became getting the truck out of the water, especially with transmission fluid leaking out. The solution was absorbent booms.

“Hopefully, that will contain all of the oils, and as the wind blows the water around, the oils will all be absorbed to the boom,” said Cape Coral Fire Battalion Chief Eric Hawkins.

A tow truck was able to pull the truck out of the canal. Once out of the water, the damage to the truck was clear. Fortunately, the driver is OK.

“He was really, really nervous. He was shaking, you know. I hope he all gets checked out,” said Raleigh.

WINK News spoke to the truck’s driver, who assured us he was OK. Chief Hawkins said the man wasn’t distressed and refused to be taken to the hospital.