Editor’s Note: This article highlights the lifesaving actions of Officer Chuck Cobb during a dramatic rescue in which he pulled a lifeless woman from a submerged car. Accompanying this story is body-worn camera footage that captures the raw intensity of the moment. From the desperate plea of a 12-year-old boy to the heroic efforts that brought his mother back to life, the footage offers a firsthand look at the events that unfolded. Watch the video above as Cobb recounts his experience, giving a powerful retelling of a rescue that defied all odds.
On July 24, 2024, West Orange (Texas) Police Department officer Chuck Cobb was monitoring traffic during rush hour when he noticed something strange in the distance: someone running across the road at the bottom of an overpass.
Moments later, a vehicle pulled up near his cruiser – alerting him to another person in the road. This time, it was a 12-year-old boy running down the middle of a seven-lane highway. The boy was sprinting in pure panic – soaking wet and breathless as he eventually made his way to Cobb’s cruiser.
“My mom had a seizure and she’s in the water. Help her,” the boy, later identified as Dwight Martin, pleaded to Cobb. Without hesitation, Cobb directed Dwight into his cruiser and sped toward a nearby pond on Highway 87. And that’s when Cobb’s body camera started recording a once-in-a-lifetime rescue.
A first save
Cobb, a nearly 30-year law enforcement veteran, joined Port Arthur (Texas) Police Department at 25 years old. He had just gotten out of the U.S. Marine Corps after Operation Desert Storm when he applied and got hired.
“Law enforcement was something that had always interested me,” Cobb said.
In 2016, Cobb made the move from Port Arthur to West Orange – a night and day difference in every way: “Port Arthur is a larger, crime-ridden city with a population over 50,000 people, while West Orange is a small town with a population of barely 3,500 people.”
Throughout his law enforcement career, Cobb has had to dive into the water several times, given Port Arthur’s location near the coast as one of Texas’ leading seaports.
“But this was actually the first time I was able to bring someone back and save them,” Cobb said. “It’s not very often in this line of work that you get to have that kind of positive effect and save someone’s life. I was in the right place at the right time.”
Arriving on scene
Upon arriving at the scene, Cobb saw a car partially submerged in the water, with a young woman nearby. “I wasn’t sure if she was the mother the boy had mentioned, but it turned out she was his sister, who had been trying unsuccessfully to get into the car,” Cobb recalled.
Cobb quickly took off his duty belt and dove into the water, attempting to open the woman’s car. “All four doors were locked,” he said. “I couldn’t get in. I had to go back to my cruiser, where I luckily had a window punch.”
By the time Cobb received the window punch, a passerby had stopped and gotten into the water to help.
“We were able to get the rear windows punched out, but neither of us could find the door handle on the back doors. Soon after, another passerby stopped and got into the water on the driver’s side. I was able to punch the front driver’s side window, and we were able to get the door open and grab her.”
The woman, later identified as Jonquetta Winbush, was lifeless.
For three minutes, Cobb performed CPR in front of her two children.
“When I watched my body camera footage the next day, I heard myself talking to Jonquetta. I kept saying, ‘Come on girl. Come on, come on.’ I realized I was talking to her as much as I was to me. And when she finally took that first gasp of air, it was such a relief,” Cobb recalled. “I was still worried because I knew she had been without oxygen for a long time. But I was able to tell her kids, who were crying hysterically, that we got her breathing again.”
Winbush, who had been in the water for nearly five minutes, was transported to a hospital by EMS.
“At the ER, the doctor said it didn’t look good, as she had been without oxygen for at least eight minutes. We didn’t expect her to make it. But she is literally a walking, talking miracle.”
‘Determined to find someone to help his mama’
Winbush was in the ICU on life support when she developed pneumonia days later, caused by an infection from the dirty pond water that had spread to her lungs.
“And then we thought that probably wasn’t going to go well. But after about a week, she started doing a 180 and gained her consciousness back. She still uses a walker and is in physical therapy. But she’s as sharp as a tack mentally,” Cobb proudly shared. “Everyone I’ve spoken to in the medical field said that 99 times out of 100, a patient wouldn’t survive after being underwater that long without oxygen. And the 1 percent who do would likely have extensive brain damage.”
Winbush has a history of seizures, but her children, Dwight and 16-year-old Bre’Asia Hunt, told Cobb they were rare. “Bre’Asia said it was the first time she didn’t see it coming. Usually, she’s there to help her mom through it, but this one came out of nowhere.”
“There were a lot of prayers for Jonquetta. I later learned that one of her children had already lost their father, so knowing I played a small part in her being here for them is an indescribable feeling,” Cobb said.
But Cobb is quick to acknowledge Jonquetta’s children for their heroic actions that day.
“I told Dwight, ‘Everyone is calling my phone, but you’re the one they should be talking to.’ A lot of 12-year-olds would have been paralyzed by panic, but not him. He took off running, determined to find someone to help his mama.”
Days after the incident, Cobb was able to speak to Bre’Asia as he was completing the crash investigation – shedding more light on what happened leading up to the crash into the pond.
“I initially thought both kids had gotten out of the car and Jonquetta was stuck inside. But what actually happened was Jonquetta had a seizure while stopped at a sign across the highway. Bre’Asia got out of the passenger side to go around and put the car in park, but the door was locked. As she ran around the back of the car, Jonquetta’s seizure worsened, and her foot slipped off the brake and onto the gas, sending the car across the highway.”
That’s when Cobb first saw Bre’Asia — she was running across the bottom of the overpass, chasing after the car as it sped off.
“She coached her little brother through opening the door and got him out. She told him, ‘Run and get help,’ and he took off running while she tried to open the other doors. If either of them had frozen, this could have been a completely different story.”
‘Everything aligned that day’
Cobb is certain there was a reason he was parked in that spot, monitoring traffic that day: “It was the first time I’ve ever monitored traffic there. Usually, I’m about a half mile down the road. If I hadn’t been there, if Dwight hadn’t run for help, and if someone had just called 911, by the time dispatch alerted us, the outcome could have been very different.”
The incident, Cobb said, reignited his passion for law enforcement.
“After 30 years, you can become callous to a lot of things. But this brings you back to why you got into the job in the first place. To know that there are still people out there who appreciate what you do and that you can make a positive impact – it’s humbling.”
Cobb’s actions, along with the bravery of Dwight, Bre’Asia and the help of bystanders, have not gone unnoticed. Despite his reluctance to step into the spotlight, Cobb agreed to do interviews after encouragement from his assistant chief. “He told me, ‘In today’s society, the perception of law enforcement can be so negative. If you have a chance to put some good light on it, why not take the shot?’” Cobb clarified. “I’m not one for the cameras, but if this story can bring a little positivity, then it’s worth it.”
For Jonquetta and her family, the quick actions of Cobb and others that day were nothing short of lifesaving. “It’s amazing how everything aligned that day,” Cobb said. “If I hadn’t been in that exact spot, if Dwight hadn’t run for help, if the bystanders hadn’t stepped in — the outcome could have been much worse. But now Jonquetta is back with her kids and that’s all that matters.”
