ORLANDO, Fla. – A 70-year-old man died Saturday afternoon after a vehicle he was in went into a body of water near a Home Depot, the Florida Highway Patrol said.
Orange County Fire Rescue personnel said the crash happened at 6130 E. Colonial Drive.
Troopers said a GMC pickup truck was traveling behind a Honda Civic as the vehicles headed east on Colonial Drive.
The front left of the pickup struck the rear of the Civic, causing it to spin clockwise and travel backward into a retention pond, troopers said.
"[The car] lasted like seven seconds on the surface then went into the bottom of the lake," said Andy Wilson Rivera, who was walking by when it all happened and jumped into the water to help rescue those trapped inside. "To get under there and not see what's going on around, and trying to reach for people who are desperate, and it could drown you while trying to save their lives."
Several bystanders attempted to pull the male driver and female passenger in the Civic out of the vehicle as it became submerged. Troopers said Orange County deputies and Fire Rescue personnel pulled the two out of the Civic.
The man and woman were taken to a hospital. Troopers said the man, later identified as Jesus Aucaquizhpi, of Orlando, was pronounced dead and the woman remained in critical condition.
Charges are pending against the driver of the pickup truck. Troopers said the crash remains under investigation.
"A lot of times, when people are impacted, they react differently," said Sgt. Kim Montes, of the Florida Highway Patrol. "We can see in the roadway that the car did get turned around and exited the roadway in reverse and went into the pond backwards."
Stay with News 6 and ClickOrlando.com for updates on this developing story.
Editor's note: Authorities initially reported the woman had died in the incident. This story has since been corrected.