Shocking video shows how Illinois police saved a family from freezing to death in a lake

In an act of bravery captured on video, three Illinois police officers jumped into the frigid waters of the lagoon and smashed car windows to save a young family, including their two-year-old daughter, who was slowly trapped inside the vehicle. to sink beneath the surface. The incident took place in a lake NapervilleA suburb of Chicago, the local police department confirmed.

Witnesses reported that the family was unable to extricate themselves from a partially submerged vehicle nearby. Naperville Public Library. After receiving the emergency call around 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday, January 9, officers responded “without apparent hesitation, despite the sub-freezing temperature” (minus zero degrees Celsius), according to the police log. An officer’s body camera where the urgency of their voices can be heard trying to open the vehicle doors.

The tense situation turned serious when it became clear that the doors would not budge, leading officers to decide to break the windows. “Break it, break it!” one of them is heard saying before the glass shatters and water fills inside.

A police officer managed to remove the little girl, whose car seat was submerged in waist-high water, while his colleagues helped the parents out of the vehicle. In the words of the commander Michael Williams No Naperville Police“They were able to break the window, open the door, get the child out and then the adults.”

Despite her apparent calm during the rescue, the terror of the situation was palpable, especially when the girl began to show signs of panic, a natural reaction to her father’s reassuring words: “You’re okay, honey!” , while an officer quickly got him to dry land.

The family was medically treated for hypothermia, as was one of the rescuers, who suffered minor cuts and exposure to the cold. Preliminary investigations suggest that the incident was an accident caused by confusion on the part of the car driver, who pressed the accelerator pedal instead of the brake.

Robert Gross, a witness to the dramatic rescue, praised the quick action of the officers: “Those officers were heroes… They didn’t stop to think, they just ran into the cold water.” According to police, no one involved in the crash was injured that required medical treatment.

The incident comes after a week of police and firefighting Florida They formed a human chain to save a car full of gifts that crashed into a water-filled ditch. Lifeguards return to searching for Christmas presents after rescuing a mother and her three children from a shipwreck.

This event is a constant reminder of readiness emergency services To respond quickly and courageously to critical situations, reaffirming their commitment to the safety and well-being of the community.