MIAMI, Fla. – A woman owes her life to an off-duty police officer who was heading home from a shift who just happened to be in the right place at the right time.
Tuesday, April 13, 2021, at 5:00 PM Sabrina Anderson, a South Florida woman from the area, crashed her car into a canal in El Portal, just north of Miami. It was at this time when officer Angel Lopez, who was on his way home, spotted the accident and jumped into action.
The car was sinking and was fully submerged in the water only minutes after officer Lopez pulled the driver from the car. She is lucky to be alive.
“You do what you have to do, and thank God that everything worked out,” Lopez told Local 10 News on Wednesday. Lopez said that Anderson looked nervous after the accidents and had explained that she had just got that car. “I felt bad for her” Lopez told reporters.
The gravity of the situation was not lost not Anderson. “I want to thank the rescue and everything for coming into the water and getting me,” she said.
The police report confirmed that Anderson ended up in the canal as a result of a crash that involved three cars.
Anderson said a woman’s vehicle collided with her car which made her “car got over into the water” she said. It was at that moment that off-duty officer Lopez noticed her vehicle and jumped into the water to save her life.
Lopez slide down the embankment and pulled Anderson from an open window before the vehicle was fully submerged in the water.
Chief Magnusson, El Portal’s police chief commended his officer for acting immediately.
“I’m extremely proud of my officer and what he did,” said Chief Magnusson. “Officer Lopez is a man of few words so to speak, but I can tell you in our conversation he was he was very proud, very happy.”
For his part, Officer Angel Lopez does not think he is a hero, merely a police officer doing his job.
“I mean, no, thousands of us every day in this country who wear this uniform do these kind of things,” he said. “You know, it’s just another day on the job. This is what we sign up for.”
As far as we are concerned, every officer Angel Lopez we have out there in Miami protecting us is another blessing and we’ll take it.
If you or a loved one have been injured in a collision, speak with one of our Miami auto accident attorneys and let us help you get the compensation you are entitled to.
About the Author
Michael Feiner
Michael A. Feiner is a partner in the Fort Lauderdale office of Steinger, Greene & Feiner. Since being admitted to the Florida Bar in 2001, Michael has devoted his practice to representing plaintiffs throughout Florida in various tort and strict liability cases and has successfully litigated cases against national insurance companies, large public companies, and governmental agencies, resulting in tens of millions of dollars for his clients.
He has handled all types of personal injury and wrongful death cases on behalf of plaintiffs, including automobile negligence, premises liability, medical malpractice, product liability, dog bites, and sexual harassment. Michael’s product liability case against Microsoft, as well as his representation of victims of sexual harassment and abuse by physicians, has garnered him important media attention at both the local and national levels.
Michael is an experienced trial lawyer and successfully argued an appeal to the Fourth District Court of Appeal. In the reported decision Ortlieb v. Butts, 849 So.2d 1165 (Fla. 4th DCA 2003), Michael persuaded the Fourth District Court of Appeal that a directed verdict on liability was appropriate where the defendant did not rebut the presumption of negligence of a rear driver in a rear-end collision.
Michael Feiner
Michael A. Feiner is a partner in the Fort Lauderdale office of Steinger, Greene & Feiner. Since being admitted to the Florida Bar in 2001, Michael has devoted his practice to representing plaintiffs throughout Florida in various tort and strict liability cases and has successfully litigated cases against national insurance companies, large public companies, and governmental agencies, resulting in tens of millions of dollars for his clients. He has handled all types of personal injury and wrongful death cases on behalf of plaintiffs, including automobile negligence, premises liability, medical malpractice, product liability, dog bites, and sexual harassment. Michael’s product liability case against Microsoft, as well as his representation of victims of sexual harassment and abuse by physicians, has garnered him important media attention at both the local and national levels. Michael is an experienced trial lawyer and successfully argued an appeal to the Fourth District Court of Appeal. In the reported decision Ortlieb v. Butts, 849 So.2d 1165 (Fla. 4th DCA 2003), Michael persuaded the Fourth District Court of Appeal that a directed verdict on liability was appropriate where the defendant did not rebut the presumption of negligence of a rear driver in a rear-end collision.