A rescue crew had to use a boat to rescue a man from high waters in the Tijuana River Valley Friday.
His car got stuck in about two feet of water at about 8:30 p.m. near Saturn Boulevard and Sunset Avenue, just south of a Tijuana River inlet.
That stretch of Saturn had been closed since Thursday, with high water signs warning of the danger ahead. Still the man in his 20s decided to forge ahead, trying to cross the deep water.
His car was soon submerged.
When they arrived, firefights and lifeguards tried to reach the vehicle, but they could not access it.
They instead carried a boat to another access point along the river and sent it out on the water. After steering to the vehicle, they were able to pull the victim to safety.
The driver was not injured — just embarrassed, Battalion Chief Steve Salaz said, though he did do one thing right.
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"He was really smart. He stayed in his vehicle he didn't get out," said Salaz. "If he would have got out, the water was a lot deeper in front of the vehicle. He could have been swept away by the current."
By 10 p.m., the water in the area had started to recede back to the river banks, but the car will stay put until the morning.
