Updated: Thu Apr. 26 2007 5:46:09 PM

toronto.ctv.ca

A group of strangers came together on a road in north Pickering making extraordinary efforts to save the driver of a pickup truck.

The truck left the roadway and overturned Wednesday night. A small farm pond on Brock Road north of Claremont was the scene of the accident at about 8 p.m.

Police say the truck's driver had been drinking and lost control. The vehicle ended up in the pond, prompting a group of passersby to rush into the cold water.

About 30 people helped flip the pickup onto its side. But the driver could not be found.

So the group, led by two off-duty firefighters, organized a rapid search for the missing man.

"We organized ... an arm-to-arm search," Greg Beatty, a firefighter at the Pickering nuclear power plant, told CTV's Jim Junkin Thursday morning.

The group joined hands and walked forward into the water, searching for the missing driver.

"It was an amazing effort and there was so many people -- young, old, women, men - everybody took part," Gord Hooper of Markham Fire Department.

After searching for several minutes one woman spotted air bubbles in the water. Within moments they were pulling the man from about five feet of water and dragging him onto the shore.

"I was up to my shoulders when I found him," Hooper told the Toronto Star.

In the end, the missing man did not survive the crash. While they wished the outcome could have been different, the group was glad to help.

Efforts were made to resuscitate the driver, who was later identified as Mihai (Mike) Szabo, 45, of Pickering. Police suspect Szabo was already dead from injuries sustained in the crash.

An autopsy is expected to be conducted soon.

"I wish that the outcome would have been different but I'm happy that I was able to be a part of that," childcare worker Caroline Birkerton said.

With a report from CTV's Jim Junkin