Florida first responders form human chain to ‘save Christmas’ after crash

Florida police and firefighters went above and beyond to save a family’s Christmas after a mom driving with her three young children crashed into a watery ditch, with responders forming a human chain to retrieve their presents from the wreckage.

The vehicle lost control, hit a pole and rolled over before landing in a water-filled ditch on the southbound side of Interstate 95 in Ormond Beach around 11:45 a.m., according to the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office.

Good Samaritans stopped and helped get the woman and her three children — the oldest of which was just 5 years old — from the car when deputies and firefighters from Ormond Beach arrived.

Fortunately, the four only suffered minor injuries — however, their Christmas gifts were still in the car, which sat in 3 feet of water.

As the woman and children were taken to an area hospital, firefighters used a ladder to reach the vehicle and were able to salvage most of the gifts.

They formed a human chain with deputies and moved the presents to dry land.

“Because of these efforts, deputies were able to transport the gifts to the VSO office, where they were sorted, dried, supplemented with a few extra donated gifts, and then brought to the hospital for the children,” the sheriff’s office said in a press release.

The sheriff’s office thanked all those who assisted in making the victims’ Christmas “a little bit brighter despite the crash.”