Firefighter pulls man from NYC canal

[May 11, 2009]  NEW YORK (AP) -- A city firefighter jumped into the polluted waters of the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn to save a driver from his sinking car.

Richard Staiti needed a hepatitis shot after his time in the canal, notorious for industrial pollution. He had gone in to get the driver of a Volvo that went in the water early Saturday.

Staiti ended up spending more time in the water than necessary, after he was told there had been children in the car. That turned out not to be true.

Police charged the car's operator with drunken driving.

[Associated Press]

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