Bystanders pull woman from car in pond

TAMPA (FOX 13) - Two passersby who dove into the water to rescue a driver from a pond in the New Tampa area this morning said they didn't have time to think about it.

It was around 8 a.m. when officers and divers were called to the scene at the intersection of New Tampa Blvd. and Meadow Pine Drive.  That's just east of Interstate 75.

The view from SkyFOX showed a light-colored vehicle in the a pond, barely visible in the murky water.  

A woman was pulled from that submerged car by citizens who saw the car drive into the pond. 

Shane Mitchell said he was taking his son to school when his son spotted the car plow right into the water. Mitchell pulled over right away.

"I jumped into the water and started swimming to the car," he said. 

Mitchell and another Good Samaritan, Lisa Missana, both swam to the car and took turns trying to get the woman's seatbelt done. Once she was out of the seatbelt, the two brought her to shore. 

"She started breathing right away, luckily," said Missana. "Nothing goes through your head," she said. "You just instantly react.

The woman was hospitalized, but police say she is expected to recover.

A tow truck was later able to winch the Ford Mustang out of the water.