Swiftwater Rescue teams helped save people trapped in cars over weekend

The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office says they were involved in five separate water rescues in the northern part of the county Saturday.

These rescues involved Swiftwater Rescue teams and helicopters.

One of the rescues was near Cave Creek and the Carefree Highway when a father and son got trapped in their car on the way to the airport.

"The people appeared to be in some possible imminent danger so we decided to use the helicopter," said Phoenix Fire Captain Tupac Enrique.

The rescue took about two hours and luckily, the man and his son were OK.

This isn't always the case according to Captain Enrique who is a member of the technical rescue team. He says water can start to rush in just a matter of minutes, turning your car into a death trap.

"Water is a very powerful force. Once it starts moving, you have no control over it," said Captain Enrique. "The car can basically become like a raft, and you have no idea what it's going to do once it starts moving in the water. It can get caught up against the tree. Any time water is moving fast, it's carrying all sorts of debris with it. Trees, shopping carts, who knows what could be in there, things that can trap and injure a person.