Multiple reports confirm that Mary and Larry Watkins and their Chihuahua escaped a pickup that entered the water at Alamitos Bay in Long Beach in August 2018.
A pickup crossed a barrier at a California marina and began sinking with two people and a Chihuahua inside. The footage is dramatic. The verified account is also narrower than many retellings.
Multiple reports identify the occupants as Mary Watkins and her son, Larry Watkins. Bystanders and lifeguards helped them and their dog out of the vehicle at Alamitos Bay Marina in Long Beach in August 2018. News organizations reported that all three survived without injury.
Quick answer: No, the Watkins family and their Chihuahua were not trapped or injured when their pickup entered the water. Multiple reports confirm that Mary Watkins, her son Larry Watkins, and the dog escaped a sinking truck that crossed a barrier at Alamitos Bay Marina in Long Beach in August 2018. Bystanders and lifeguards broke through a window to help Larry out first, then freed Mary and the Chihuahua as the vehicle submerged further. All three survived without injury, with the verified account supported by CBS News, the Associated Press, Inside Edition, and Global News.
What the reports agree on
The pickup was parked near the water before it went through a barrier and entered the bay. Video shows people converging as the vehicle sits partly submerged.
Reports describe rescuers breaking or clearing access through a window and helping Larry out first. Mary and the Chihuahua were also brought to safety, with lifeguards participating as the truck sank further.
The central facts are supported by CBS News, an Associated Press account, Inside Edition, and Global News. The people, dog, location, and successful rescue are not dependent on a single viral caption.
The footage remains copyrighted. This package records it as reference-only rather than downloading it.
What remains unknown
The reviewed reports said the cause was under investigation. That boundary matters.
Some retellings include speculation about a boot, a pedal, or how the pickup began moving. A possibility repeated in an interview is not the same as an official determination.
There is no basis here to diagnose a medical event, declare a mechanical defect, assign criminal blame, or state that the driver made a particular error. A responsible update would require a later police, fire, insurance, or court record that clearly identifies the finding.
The article therefore describes the sequence without solving the cause.
Why fast coordination mattered
The rescue involved people already at the marina and trained lifeguards. That does not mean every witness should enter water or climb onto a sinking vehicle.
Open water, moving vehicles, broken glass, fuel, electrical systems, current, depth, and unstable surfaces can create additional victims. Call emergency services and follow instructions when circumstances allow.
If a person can assist from a safe position, a flotation device or reach aid may be safer than entering the water. The right action depends on the scene and the rescuer's training.
The Chihuahua's small size may have made the dog easier to lift through an opening, but it could also have made the animal difficult to locate or control amid water, noise, and panic.
Prepare before a vehicle emergency
AAA advises drivers to know whether side windows use tempered or laminated glass. That difference affects whether a consumer escape tool can break the window.
Keep an appropriate tool secured within reach, not loose in a glove compartment or cargo area that may become inaccessible. Read its instructions and understand which windows it is designed to affect.
AAA's S-U-R-E sequence emphasizes staying calm while working quickly, unbuckling seat belts, rolling down or breaking a suitable window, exiting, and moving to safety. Its fact sheet says a sinking or burning vehicle is an exception to the usual call-first sequence: escape should take priority.
Guidance can evolve, and vehicle construction differs. Review current emergency recommendations and the glass labels in the specific vehicle rather than assuming every tool works on every window.
Include the dog in the plan
Use a properly selected carrier or tested restraint appropriate to the Chihuahua and vehicle. The goal is to reduce distraction and prevent the dog from being thrown, hiding under a seat, or escaping into traffic after a crash.
The restraint should not block people from releasing their own belts. Every capable adult should know how to open the carrier or detach the harness.
Keep a leash within reach, but do not allow it to wrap around the dog or occupants during travel. Identification and current microchip registration can help if the Chihuahua flees after an emergency; a microchip is not a GPS tracker.
Never secure a dog in a closed trunk or an area without safe ventilation. Do not leave the Chihuahua unattended in a vehicle.
After everyone exits
Move away from the vehicle and water's edge. Account for every person and animal, call emergency services if that has not happened, and tell responders about anyone still missing.
Even when no injury is obvious, follow medical advice after immersion, smoke exposure, impact, broken glass, or severe stress. A wet Chihuahua can become cold quickly. Wrap the dog in a dry layer without delaying urgent veterinary evaluation.
Do not re-enter the vehicle for a phone, bag, or pet supply. Do not give food or medication to a distressed animal until a professional advises it.
Photographs, witness details, and the vehicle condition may matter later, but safety comes first.
Report the rescue without manufacturing suspense
The three licensed photographs in this package are Chihuahua illustrations, not images of the Watkins family's dog.
An editor using the news footage should preserve the original credit, use an authorized embed or licence, and avoid a thumbnail that implies death or injury. The verified outcome is that the family and dog survived.
Names should be used only as supported by the contemporary reports. There is no reason to seek private contact information or speculate about the family's life after the incident.
A complete account includes its limits
The Alamitos Bay rescue is well supported: a pickup entered the water, bystanders and lifeguards acted, and Mary Watkins, Larry Watkins, and their Chihuahua reached safety.
The cause is not established in the reviewed record. Keeping that uncertainty visible makes the story stronger, not weaker.
The useful lesson is preparation: know the vehicle's glass, keep restraints releasable, plan an exit, and act quickly if a vehicle is sinking. The people at the marina delivered the ending that mattered—everyone got out.
Featured photograph: Don DeBold / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0), via Wikimedia Commons. It is an illustration and does not depict the animals described in this article.
