A 70-year-old Detroit woman was saved from Lake St. Clair yesterday after she attempted to drive her car into the water, Grosse Pointe Farms officials reported. The incident, which occurred around 8:20 a.m. near Lake Shore and Newberry Roads, prompted a rapid emergency response. A concerned citizen's 911 call was credited with aiding in the woman's rescue, as first responders arrived at the scene within minutes.
The vehicle, a small Kia, was found partially submerged with its front end in the water and its rear resting on a retaining wall at a 45-degree angle. According to FOX 2 Detroit, officers did not find anyone inside the car but instead located the woman face-down in the lake, about 50 yards from the crash site and 30 feet from the shoreline.
Officer John Ross and Lt. Antonino Trupiano, along with two other officers, went into the water to rescue the woman. “We swam to her and got her out of the water. Got her back to the shore - we ended up pulling her out of the water," Trupiano told FOX 2 Detroit. The officers administered life-saving measures, including CPR, which took about one minute to clear water from the woman’s lungs.
The efforts of the Grosse Pointe Farms Public Safety officers were successful as the woman was revived and slowly regained consciousness. After the medics arrived, they took over and transported the patient to a nearby hospital for further treatment. "Their swift action enabled our officers to arrive on the scene within two minutes, which was critical to the outcome of this incident," the Grosse Pointe Farms Department of Public Safety praised citizens, per WWJ Newsradio.
The woman, who has not been identified, reportedly told officials that she had driven into the water intentionally, as per statements given to police and reported by WWJ Newsradio. The incident remains under investigation, with officials yet to release further details about the woman's motives or her current condition in the hospital.
