NOKOMIS — In December, Dominic Yacca drove away from Pop’s Sunset Grill to rescue a driver whose car he saw crash into the Intracoastal Waterway.
On Monday, he was standing beside Florida Fish & Wildlife Officer Specialist Kelsey Dalton, the officer who helped him rescue the driver, as they were both recognized by U.S. Rep. Greg Steube.
The congressman referred to both Yacca and Dalton as “the epitome of Americans.”
“They see someone in need and they react,” he said.
Steube visited Pop’s Sunset Grill on Monday to recognize them for his “MVP of the District” program, which highlights nominated residents four times a year.
Yacca was working an evening shift Dec. 16 when the band at the restaurant alerted patrons a car had been seen entering the Intracoastal Waterway.
The weather was cold and rainy, Yacca recalled, with little visibility. The driver had likely mistaken a stretch of low-lying parkland for a road and unknowingly entered the water.
Yacca, a Marine veteran, immediately got into his car and drove toward the park to help.