VIDEO INCLUDED: Edwardsville Fire Department retrieves submerged car after rescuing driver

Feb 13, 2019 2:30 PM Feb 13, 2019 3:19 PM

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EDWARDSVILLE – Edwardsville Firefighters responded to the scene of a partially submerged Nissan passenger car early Wednesday morning to find the driver trapped

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The driver was trapped after their vehicle spun into a retention pond near Gateway Commerce Center Drive. Weather was not determined to be a contributing factor in the single-car crash, as ice was not found on the roadway. The vehicle became half submerged and the driver was trapped in it. Firefighters could not comment on how long the driver may have been pinned in the vehicle.

Edwardsville Fire Chief James Whiteford said in an email hydraulic cutter/spreaders, colloquially known as “The Jaws of Life” were utilized alongside two firefighters trained in ice and cold water rescue, Cole Schrage and Jake Sweetman. Whiteford said water rescues such as these are rare, saying only about 10 have occurred over the past three years. He said in the summer, sometimes cars get stranded in water due to flooding. Luckily, he said the department has not been forced to utilize their training to rescue someone from beneath the ice yet.

Whiteford said the driver of the vehicle was taken to a regional hospital by an Alton Memorial Hospital ambulance, which responded to the fire department's call for mutual aid.

If not pinned in the vehicle as this driver was, Whiteford advises motorists to roll down their windows and exit their vehicles if they find themselves trapped like this driver.

No update on the driver's condition is available at this time.

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