FedEx driver saves woman who crashed car while singing ‘Happy Birthday,’ CA cops say

A FedEx Express driver rescued a California woman from a freezing river after she drove her car into the water while singing “Happy Birthday,” the Highway Patrol said.

Virginia Matthews, 29, of Truckee was singing “Happy Birthday” to her cousin on the phone on Monday, CHP Officer Jacob Williams told McClatchy News.

The snowy conditions and distracted driving then caused Matthews to veer her car into the Truckee River, Williams said.

Brandon Alt, 34, a FedEx Express driver, was behind Matthews on River Road and stopped his car to jump into the water and rescue her, according to Williams.

Alt told CNN that he threw on his hazard lights and went into the river to help Matthews, who was stuck in her sinking vehicle. When Alt couldn’t get the door on the driver’s side open, he told Matthews to climb into the back seat.

Water flooded into the car once Alt got the door open but he was able to help Matthews get out and call 911.

“I was at the right place at the right time,” he said, according to CNN. “I hope that anyone else in that situation would have done something similar.”

Williams said it’s “very rare” for people to admit to him that they were driving while distracted and that police “probably won’t” issue a citation to Matthews.

“In 13 years, I’ve probably only had two or three people admittedly tell me they were on their phone distracted,” he said. “Most of the time they don’t.”

This story was originally published March 11, 2021 at 5:17 PM with the headline "FedEx driver saves woman who crashed car while singing ‘Happy Birthday,’ CA cops say."