CLINTON TWP. (WWJ) — A group of Clinton Township police officers are being called heroes after jumping into frigid waters to rescue a man who had driven into a pond at an apartment complex on New Year’s Eve.
It happened just before 2 a.m. on Dec. 31 at the Harbours Apartment Complex on Bayview near Heydenreich and Hall Roads, according to the Clinton Township Police Department.
Early that morning dispatchers got several calls about an SUV that had driven into a retention pond at the complex and callers said it appeared at least one person was inside the SUV.
Officers responded to the scene immediately and when they got to the south side of the pond they saw the SUV in the middle of the pond, officials said in a Facebook post Wednesday.
Officers saw a man in the driver’s seat of the SUV, which was floating on the surface of the water, officials said.
Sgt. Bates noticed the front end of the SUV was slowly beginning to sink and realized he needed to take action before it became completely submerged.
Officers tried to instruct the driver to exit the vehicle, “but he would not come out,” officials said.
“Without hesitation Sgt. Bates entered the freezing waters of the retention pond and swam to the car,” officials said.
When he got to the driver’s side door, he saw the driver moving around inside the SUV, but not coming towards the open window. Bates yelled to the man to exit, but he was not responding.
As the SUV began to rapidly sink and the open window was almost completely submerged, Bates reached inside and pulled the driver under the water and out of the window.
The sergeant was able to stabilize the driver on a lifejacket and held onto a rescue rope as other officers pulled Bates and the driver to safety.
As soon as Bates had extracted the driver, the vehicle sank to the bottom of the pond and was completely submerged, officials said.
“We are extremely proud of the actions taken by all officers of Platoon C, but without the heroic actions of Sgt. Bates the driver may have suffered a fatal outcome. Job Well Done!!” the department’s post said.
Officials did not identify the driver or what caused them to drive into the pond. It was not immediately clear if alcohol or drugs played a role.
More on today's top stories: