PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A Norristown police officer saved a girl and her father from drowning on Labor Day after a pickup truck ended up in the Schuylkill River.
“When I got there, she was in the back bed of the truck, screaming, crying, yelling,” said Norristown Police Officer Edward Butterworth during a harrowing moment caught by police body cameras.
Police say the 12-year-old girl ended up in the middle of the river after her father’s pickup truck accidentally rolled down a boat ramp at a park on Haws Avenue Monday afternoon.
Officials say Police Officer Matthew Walsh was conducting a directed patrol at Riverfront Park when the incident unfolded and called for back up.
They say the truck filled with water as it quickly floated out about 60 feet into the river. The girl’s father went in after her and soon, the truck was fully underwater.
That's when Butterworth, one of the responding officers, jumped in.
“At that time, boom, I go in. I think her dad went in too. He got to her. By the time I got out there I couldn’t find him, he was under the water. I was calmly screaming at her, where is he, where is he, where is he? He pops up. She was holding him down so she can breathe, which I think is normal for anyone who is panicking and is going to be drowning,” Butterworth explained.
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Butterworth then pulled the two to shore.
Police say officers aren’t trained to do water rescues, but Butterworth is an avid swimmer.
“I’m not going to lie, after this incident was done I was an absolute mess. I fell apart afterwards.”
Butterworth is being credited with saving two lives on Labor Day.