Heroic Anglers Abandon Bass Fishing Tournament To Rescue Elderly Man In Sinking Car
Two Louisiana fishermen were in the right place at the right time as they rushed to rescue an elderly man who was trapped in his sinking car.
Brock Newcomb and Tyler Dauzat were participating in a local charity bass tournament in the Cane River on Feb. 8 when something unusual caught their attention. The duo had already caught about 10 bass by midday, and they decided to move their boat to a different spot.
"The wind was blowing 30 miles per hour, and we were running back to the good bank when we saw something floating in the middle of the river," Dauzat later told Outdoor Life. "We first thought it was a boat. But as we got closer, we could see it was a small four-door car just floating along."
(Facebook: Lisa Casey via Natchitoches Parish Sheriff's Office)
When they got closer, they found an 80-year-old man sitting at the wheel of the submerged vehicle with his seatbelt on and the airbag deployed. They later found out the man missed a turn and accidentally veered off Louisiana Highway 494, down a 100-foot embankment and into the 12-foot-deep water.
But Dauzat and Newcomb got to him just in time.
The man looked dazed, Dauzat recalled, but the angler asked him to roll down the window, and he did. Dauzat was then able to unfasten the man's seatbelt, and the two fishermen worked together to pull him out of the sinking Honda Accord and onto their 18-foot Ranger.
They alerted authorities and took the man to tournament headquarters at Shell Beach Landing, where he was then transported to a hospital with a ruptured spleen and lots of bumps, bruises and some cuts. He's expected to make a full recovery.
"It all worked out okay, and he’ll be fine," Dauzat said. "I got a call the next day from the man’s daughter to thank us."
Fishermen Lauded As Heroes After Rescuing Man From Drowning
Following the incident, Natchitoches Parish Sheriff Stuart Wright thanked Dauzat and Newcomb in a Facebook post for their heroism and selflessness.
"What Brock and Tyler did was nothing short of heroic," Wright said. "They risked their own safety to help a stranger in need, and without their intervention, the outcome could have been much worse. We are incredibly grateful for their swift response and bravery."
Brock Newcomb & Tyler Dauzat rescued an 80-year-old man from his car as it sank into Louisiana's Cane River.
(Facebook: Natchitoches Parish Sheriff's Office)
But the fishing duo remained humble.
"We just did what I think anyone else would have done," Dauzat said. "That elderly man in the car was someone’s dad or grandpa. It could have been my family member, and I’d want someone to help them, too."
Obviously, they did not win the bass fishing tournament. But they did save a man's life — and that makes for a damn good day on the water.