The brother of a man in a critical condition after he crashed into an above ground water main in Riverside County said his sibling could not move as water filled his car.
Georg Schanz said 51-year-old Steve Strohm, who is in remission treatment for Hodgkin's lymphoma, had blacked out at the wheel in Homeland on Wednesday as he headed home from an appointment with a doctor.
He was saved from drowning by a good Samaritan and a Riverside County Sheriff's deputy, who smashed a window and dragged him to safety.
"He just blacked out. He said I just remember water, there was all this water coming into my face. And he said he was struggling trying to get out, but it so powerful that he couldn't move," Schanz said, "I don't think you would ever imagine you are going to die on a road by drowning."
Schanz said his brother's first concern was his new car, which was badly damaged in the crash.
"Actually his first concern was the car. He just got that brand-new Mini Cooper in the summer. He was so excited because he loved it," Schanz said.
He also heaped praise on brave passer-by Tanya Feodossieva and the law officer who saved Strohm's life.
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"There's no words I can put out there but thank you. I owe them my brother," Schanz said.
