David Hill was leaving his home in Parkland Ranches on his way to the gym, thinking only about his upcoming workout. Recent roadwork had left the neighborhood slightly disordered, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary as he headed south. A truck passed him going north, and Hill eased his Ferrari toward the right side of the road to give it space. What he did not anticipate was how unstable the newly widened canal’s sandy shoulder had become.
As his car edged over, the ground suddenly gave way. In an instant, the Ferrari flipped and plunged into the canal, quickly becoming fully submerged. Hill’s immediate instinct was to lower the electric window, a decision that would save his life. “Somehow I managed this Harry Houdini act, and I was able to squeeze out of the window and get out of the car,” he recalls. “After I got out, I realized that there was no way I could get out of that canal by myself.”
Although the canal was not especially wide, its steep sides made escape nearly impossible. Hill found himself trapped in the water below road level, unable to climb out. He honked the horn and shouted for help, unsure if anyone passing above would hear him.
A few moments later, Elijah Benitez, 24, was driving north on his way to work at Underground Reptiles, where he handles deliveries and cares for a wide range of animals.
“As I’m heading to work, I noticed this elderly couple looking in the canal and I’m wondering if they’re looking at a gator, so I stopped because I wanna look too,” Benitez says. “I ask them what’s going on and they say there’s someone in the canal. I see this gentleman kind of fishtailing out of the window, and he didn’t seem very stable once he tried to stand up, so I jumped in, grabbed him and hauled him up out of the canal.”
Without hesitation, Benitez climbed down and pulled Hill to safety. Though he describes himself as not very tall, he credits his strength and training for allowing him to act quickly and effectively in the moment.
The encounter brought together two men from very different walks of life, one a young worker heading to his job, the other an established businessman beginning his day, in a moment that neither could have predicted. What could have ended in tragedy instead became a story of timing, instinct, and quiet courage.
Benitez, a soft spoken young man, served four years in the United States Air Force in security forces and is now awaiting completion of his discharge paperwork with hopes of becoming a firefighter. He lives with his family in Boca Raton and has a strong desire to help others whenever the opportunity arises.
“To me, it wasn’t a big deal,” Benitez says. “It was like my former job as military police, I just help people out.”
