Three Illinois police officers jumped into the icy waters of a retention pond and smashed car windows to rescue a young family, including their young son, who was trapped inside and slowly sinking below the surface.
“Break it, break it!” An officer can be heard saying on body camera footage seconds before his partner broke the window, exploding the glass into the water.
The startling footage begins with officers rushing to the scene last week, shortly after the SUV plunged into a pond in the Chicago suburb of Naperville, the police department said Wednesday.
After confirming with a witness that the family was unable to escape on their own, the officers jump into the water without apparent hesitation despite the sub-freezing temperatures that hit the state during New Year’s.
They desperately tried to open the doors, but quickly realized they wouldn’t budge.
That’s when they broke the window and climbed through the opening, causing the terrified 2-year-old to go into hysterics.
“You’re okay, honey!” The father can be heard reassuring his daughter, despite his own fear lingering in her voice.
The family drove into the retention pond after the driver mistook the gas pedal for the brake, police said. Facebook/Naperville Police Department
An officer quickly carried the girl, whose car seat had been waist-deep in water, to safe land while her companions successfully opened the front doors for her parents.
The couple had been in chest-deep water when they were freed.
“I’m sorry,” the woman said between sobs and strong chills.
Police first rescued the 2-year-old girl, who was sitting in waist-deep water. Facebook/Naperville Police Department
The family received medical treatment, as did one of their rescuers, who was treated for minor cuts and exposure to the cold, WGN9 reported.
“His ability to stay calm and do what is necessary to help the frantic family is commendable!” police said in a statement.
A preliminary investigation suggests that the fall was an accident that occurred after the driver of the SUV confused the accelerator with the brake pedal.
The officers broke the window when they realized the doors were not moving. Facebook/Naperville Police Department
The incredible rescue comes just a week after Florida police and firefighters formed a human chain to recover a car full of gifts that had crashed into a water ditch.
Rescuers returned to collect Christmas presents after rescuing a mother and her three young children from the rubble.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn