Witness recalls sole survivor of the Palm Beach County canal crash efforts to save his family

By Tynisa Senior

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    BELLE GLADE, Florida (WSVN) — A witness recalls the tireless rescue efforts of the sole survivor of the Palm Beach County canal crash that claimed the lives of nine people, including several young children.

According to the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Offices, four adults and six children were traveling south of Hatton Highway near Belle Glade in an overloaded 2023 Ford Explorer at about 7:30 p.m. Monday, when the driver, Pamela Wiggins, who would have turned 57 on Tuesday, approached a part of the two-lane road that briefly jogs west before again heading south. Wiggins failed to maneuver the turn causing the SUV to hit a guardrail before flipping over into a canal that runs parallel to the road.

7News spoke with one witness that recounted the tragic incident and the relentless efforts of man to rescue his family members that were trapped inside the vehicle.

Warren Prescott was driving by when he noticed the flipped over SUV in the canal.

“He was saying ‘Please help me, please help me. You know, I’ve lost my whole family. This is my whole family’,” said Warren.

Warren found 26-year-old Jorden Hall, alone in a deep and murky canal. Jorden was desperately diving underwater over and over again trying to get all of his family members out of the vehicle that was partially underwater.

“I know I read that he was injured, and I’m sure he was, I mean, he was like a machine,” said Warren. “I mean he was diving under the water nonstop and he had to be doing that for quite a while before I got there, because he had already removed six of the victims.”

Jorden’s mother and sister were in the car as well as his nieces and nephew. The youngest of the bunch wasn’t even two-years-old yet. Warren called 911 and helped carry the children to the bank to try CPR.

“And Jorden was in the water the whole-time diving while this was going on, and then I was able to flag down a passing workman.I think there’s about four or five guys came running over and they jumped in the water and were helping you know, trying to move the car into a better position because Jorden had told us that there was three more children trapped in the car,” said Warren.

“He repeated multiple times, that it was his whole family in the car. ‘I just lost my whole family. Why? Why me? Why am I still here?’ I mean, it was one of the most heart wrenching things I’ve ever seen,” he said.

Warren says Jorden kept diving until police pulled him away so divers could try to get to the back seats. He says he will never forget Jorden’s determination.

“The guy was a total hero. I mean, it unfortunately wasn’t the best outcome. But he really tried his hardest and tried to save his family, and it was really something astonishing to see,” he said.

Four people were pronounced dead at the scene, while five died at the hospital.

Warren says he spoke with Jorden while he was in the hospital on Thursday. He says Jorden is extremely grateful for his help.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating.

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