Firefighters, Officers Act Quickly To Save Driver In Submerged Vehicle

GRAYSLAKE, IL — The fast actions of local firefighters and police officers is being credited with saving the life of a driver who became stuck in their vehicle after it plunged into a pond last week.

Authorities were called to the pond, which is adjacent to 100 S. Atkinson Road, at about 12:10 p.m. for a report of an occupied vehicle in the water. When officers arrived, they saw the vehicle was about to go under water and that one person was trapped inside, police said.

Two officers went into the water and shattered the rear windshield and a side window with their expandable baton as the vehicles tarted to sink, Grayslake Police Department Sgt. Matthew Gore told Patch.

Two Grayslake firefighters also entered the water and were able to pull the drive through the rear windshield as the vehicles became completely submerged, Gore said.

The driver did not appear to be injured and was transported to a hospital for an evaluation as a precaution, Gore said. It appears the incident was an accident, and the driver did not appear to be intoxicated, he said.