Car Wash Customer Saved From Dangerous River Plunge
A New Jersey woman survived a dangerous plunge into the Hackensack River when she mistakenly hit the gas pedal after exiting a car wash.
Elizabeth Moore, 82, was leaving the Spotless Auto Laundry Sunday afternoon when she hit the accelerator instead of the brake and launched right into the river, police said.
Employee John Goez and customer Jay Orfino ran after the car and jumped into the river to save the River Edge native.
Willie Goez, manager of the car wash located on River and Anderson Streets, said he saw his brother jump into the river.
They “couldn’t open the door because of the pressure of the water,” said Goez, so they “pushed the driver’s side window” to save her.
They managed to get Moore, crying and confused, out of the car unharmed. Goez said that once Moore was out of the car, it disappeared beneath the water within a minute. A local towing company later removed it.
“She was lucky that she didn’t get killed,” Goez said. “They reacted fast enough that they saved this lady’s life.”
Capt. Thomas Salcedo of the Hackensack Police Department recalled a similar event that happened several years ago but said that it wasn’t a common occurrence. Goez said that in his 30 years at Spotless Auto Laundry, a car had never gone into the river.
