Emergency crews salvaged a Florida family's Christmas after the family's car ended up in a muddy ditch. Volusia County deputies and Ormond Beach firefighters responded to a car crash on I-95 around 11:45 a.m. on Monday (December 25), according to the sheriff's office.
Officials said the vehicle carrying a mother and three small children, the oldest being about 5 years old, veered off the highway and struck a pole. The car rolled before stopping in a ditch with nearly three feet of water. Witnesses pulled the mother and children from the vehicle before first responders arrived, but the children's Christmas presents were still trapped in the car.
That's when the firefighters sprang into action and formed a "human chain" to bring the gifts to dry land.
"After the victims were transferred to an ambulance, the crew of Q93 went above and beyond by using a ladder to access the submerged vehicle and were able to salvage most of the gifts from the vehicle," authorities wrote.
The firefighters passed the soaked presents to the deputies, who took them to the sheriff's office to dry them off and sort them out. After adding "a few extra donated gifts," deputies delivered them to the kids in the hospital.
"Christmas is saved!" officials earlier said in the release before concluding with this statement, "Thanks to the initiative of Q93 and some great teamwork between OBFD and VSO, this family’s Christmas is a little bit brighter despite the crash. Great work all!!"