Less than 24 hours after residents learned about a local woman whose car was swept into the Donnelly Street collapse during Sunday night’s catastrophic flooding, the community rallied, raising more than $8,000 to help her get back on the road, officially hitting their Gofundme goal.

The fundraiser was organized by George Halpern, co-owner of Pizzamore in Mount Dora, and the man who personally waded through fast-moving water to rescue Christina Cortez, the restaurant’s longtime server, just moments before the road gave way.

“The funds are going straight to Christina to get a new car,” George says. “She only had liability coverage and will not be receiving anything from her insurance company for the loss. I’m just happy. It really shows how strong our community is.”

Christina’s story quickly spread after George shared the dramatic account of her rescue on the Gofundme page. Late Sunday night, Christina was driving home from work when she turned onto Donnelly Street, unaware that torrential rain had shifted the roadway beneath her.

“Nothing was blocked off for Donnelly, so I thought it might be okay,” Christina says. “The water was super deep, and if I hadn’t stopped when I did, I would have hit the barriers and gone off the edge of the pit.”

She texted her coworkers for help, and George rushed through side streets to reach her. He parked a safe distance away, approached her car on foot through knee-deep rushing water, and helped her escape from the passenger door.

Some time after they escaped, the road collapsed, sending her car tumbling into the ravine below. The upside-down vehicle, its hazard lights still blinking through the storm, became one of the most striking images of the disaster that ravaged Eustis and Mount Dora.

Now, thanks to the community, many of them customers and neighbors, Christina will soon have reliable transportation again.

As Lake County continues to recover from the historic flooding, the rescue and the response that followed has encouraged people that there are still good people in the world.