It began with heart-pounding drama and ended the way it was supposed to.
On a rain-soaked afternoon, an SUV busted through the top wall of a two-story parking garage in Miami Springs and dangled outside as the driver likely put a death grip on the steering wheel and wondered if she would survive.
It happened shortly before 4:30 p.m. Thursday near South Royal Poinciana Boulevard and Oakwood Drive.
As gasping onlookers watched, 11 units from Miami-Dade Fire Rescue got to the scene.
According to the agency, a technical rescue team used a special heavy rescue vehicle to stabilize the vehicle — which allowed firefighters to get the woman out safely — and then lower the SUV to the ground.
It played out slowly and cautiously — and when it was over those who had been watching broke out in polite applause.
One of the pictures provided by officials shows the grateful woman hugging a firefighter following her rescue.
She was unhurt and didn’t need medical assistance. Her SUV was eventually towed away from the scene.
There was no immediate word on why her vehicle crashed through the parking garage wall.