WEST ORANGE, TX - Thanks to a good Samaritan, her children and the West Orange police, a Texas woman is grateful to still be alive after her vehicle was almost completely submerged in a pond.
According to Local 12, the woman, identified as Jonquetta Winbush, was having a seizure while driving her vehicle in late July. Her two children, a 12-year-old boy and a 16-year-old girl, managed to get out of the car while their mother was having the seizure. However, the woman passed out with her foot on the gas pedal, plunging her vehicle into the pond.
Newly available police footage shows officers making a dramatic water rescue to save Winbush. Body camera footage from veteran patrolman Charles Cobb, who was nearby monitoring traffic, shows Winbush's son frantically approaching the officer. He can be heard saying, "She's having a seizure. She's sunk. She's in the water. Help her."
Cobb put the boy in the back of his patrol car and raced to Winbush's vehicle, which was almost completely underwater by the time they got there. According to West Orange Assistant Police Chief Jessie Romero, two good Samaritans from a local plant had already rushed into the water in an attempt to get Winbush out.
Fox News reported that one of the men, Epifanio Munguia, was driving through southeast Texas when he noticed the vehicle and jumped into action to assist Officer Cobb. Speaking with "Fox & Friends First," the good Samaritan said, "I [saw] a vehicle in the water, and I thought, I didn't really think it happened at that moment. I thought a wrecker was going to come and get the car out. And then I saw an officer running to the water, and I realized it had just happened."
He added, "So I started praying, 'Lord, give me strength, make me fast, make me strong, give me wisdom.' And so I pulled over and I ran in the water and immediately started trying to crack that window in the back." Munguia and another good Samaritan, Corey Bull, followed behind the officer to help pull Winbush out of the sinking car.
Mungia said, "I jumped in the water and immediately the car began to sink. I took a quick breath. I was trying to get in there and get a hold of Jonquetta, and I couldn't get a hold of the seatbelt to unbuckle it." He said that after coming back up for more air, he heard one of the men shouting, "We've got her!" He said, "I felt like I had just won the lottery when that happened. It was a great feeling."
Officer Cobb immediately performed CPR and soon afterward, emergency services were able to respond to help keep Winbush stable. Assistant Chief Romero said, "She was totally unconscious. She was able to get a pulse back while he had her there on the ground and revive her until EMS got there."
She was transported to the hospital where she remains in the ICU in intensive care. Winbush's sister, Bevnisha Holman said, "I'm so very grateful. I can't help but just express how grateful I am that the kids were there with her, first of all, because they both were so brave. And I love that my nephew Dwight was able to take direction from his sister to go and flag down some help."
She added, "I'm so very grateful that it was on Epifanio's heart to just stop and assist because this could have been a totally different story. I'm so grateful." The sister said that she personally thanked Epifanio saying, "I messaged him and [said] I want to personally thank you for being there for my niece and nephew and ultimately my sister because he really helped save her life."
After three weeks of being in intensive care, Romero said that Winbush is now breathing on her own. She added, "She's still in the hospital, but she's going to make a full recovery." According to ABC News, Holman said that her family is grateful for the quick-thinking rescuers who didn't hesitate to help. She said, "My sister and my niece and nephew, they all needed you. Y'all stepped in. Ya'll didn't hesitate."
On August 13th, the city of West Orange honored Officer Cobb and the two good Samaritans with a life-saving award and letter of commendation.
According to Local 12, the woman, identified as Jonquetta Winbush, was having a seizure while driving her vehicle in late July. Her two children, a 12-year-old boy and a 16-year-old girl, managed to get out of the car while their mother was having the seizure. However, the woman passed out with her foot on the gas pedal, plunging her vehicle into the pond.
Newly available police footage shows officers making a dramatic water rescue to save Winbush. Body camera footage from veteran patrolman Charles Cobb, who was nearby monitoring traffic, shows Winbush's son frantically approaching the officer. He can be heard saying, "She's having a seizure. She's sunk. She's in the water. Help her."
Cobb put the boy in the back of his patrol car and raced to Winbush's vehicle, which was almost completely underwater by the time they got there. According to West Orange Assistant Police Chief Jessie Romero, two good Samaritans from a local plant had already rushed into the water in an attempt to get Winbush out.
Fox News reported that one of the men, Epifanio Munguia, was driving through southeast Texas when he noticed the vehicle and jumped into action to assist Officer Cobb. Speaking with "Fox & Friends First," the good Samaritan said, "I [saw] a vehicle in the water, and I thought, I didn't really think it happened at that moment. I thought a wrecker was going to come and get the car out. And then I saw an officer running to the water, and I realized it had just happened."
He added, "So I started praying, 'Lord, give me strength, make me fast, make me strong, give me wisdom.' And so I pulled over and I ran in the water and immediately started trying to crack that window in the back." Munguia and another good Samaritan, Corey Bull, followed behind the officer to help pull Winbush out of the sinking car.
Mungia said, "I jumped in the water and immediately the car began to sink. I took a quick breath. I was trying to get in there and get a hold of Jonquetta, and I couldn't get a hold of the seatbelt to unbuckle it." He said that after coming back up for more air, he heard one of the men shouting, "We've got her!" He said, "I felt like I had just won the lottery when that happened. It was a great feeling."
Officer Cobb immediately performed CPR and soon afterward, emergency services were able to respond to help keep Winbush stable. Assistant Chief Romero said, "She was totally unconscious. She was able to get a pulse back while he had her there on the ground and revive her until EMS got there."
She was transported to the hospital where she remains in the ICU in intensive care. Winbush's sister, Bevnisha Holman said, "I'm so very grateful. I can't help but just express how grateful I am that the kids were there with her, first of all, because they both were so brave. And I love that my nephew Dwight was able to take direction from his sister to go and flag down some help."
She added, "I'm so very grateful that it was on Epifanio's heart to just stop and assist because this could have been a totally different story. I'm so grateful." The sister said that she personally thanked Epifanio saying, "I messaged him and [said] I want to personally thank you for being there for my niece and nephew and ultimately my sister because he really helped save her life."
After three weeks of being in intensive care, Romero said that Winbush is now breathing on her own. She added, "She's still in the hospital, but she's going to make a full recovery." According to ABC News, Holman said that her family is grateful for the quick-thinking rescuers who didn't hesitate to help. She said, "My sister and my niece and nephew, they all needed you. Y'all stepped in. Ya'll didn't hesitate."
On August 13th, the city of West Orange honored Officer Cobb and the two good Samaritans with a life-saving award and letter of commendation.
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