On Saturday, May 3, 2003, Perry Township (Ind.) Fire Department rescued a child trapped inside a car submerged in a pond.
The 2-year-old boy had been asleep in the back seat of a 1987 Chevrolet Celebrity that rolled into a fishing pond at Indy Lakes, an Indianapolis suburb. A family friend had driven the boy and others to the pond for an afternoon of fishing. But when the group tried to drive away from the pond, the car stalled. Another nearby fisherman helped push the car uphill and away from the water from the front end. But they could not get the car over a hump in the road, and the car broke loose and rolled back down into the water with the boy inside.
As the front of the vehicle began to sink, the driver escaped, but the 2-year-old remained inside, and the mother began to scream for her baby. Wearing only a T-shirt and jeans, the fisherman dove into the water to reach the sinking car. For a moment, the rear of the car tail stayed above the water. He and friends tried to brace the car from sinking completely, but water rushed in through open windows and the vehicle went completely under. The fisherman and others dove under the water, but they could not find the child through the open windows. They tried to break open rear windows, but could not exert enough force. Other bystanders jumped into the water. All grew exhausted and cold; some had to be helped out of the water.
Finally, emergency units began to arrive. Marion County sheriff's deputies who went in the water and searched for the boy still could not locate him. They marked the location of the submerged vehicle by standing on its roof.
At 1453 hrs., the Perry Township Fire Department dispatched Squad 662, Engine 664, Tactical Support Unit (TSU) 664, Squad 661, Aerial 661, Battalion 6, and Safety Officer 660. The first units arrived on scene at 1500 hrs. Captain Paul Smith from Engine 664 and Private Christopher Goode from Squad 662 entered the water, broke the rear window with a window punch and then made the hole bigger with their boots. They found the boy and brought him to shore, where paramedics determined he was not breathing and had no pulse, although a heart monitor did show some cardiac activity. The paramedics began resuscitation, and a Life Line helicopter transported the boy to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis, which admitted him in critical condition. The child survived and was released two weeks later in good condition.