COON RAPIDS, Minn. — Coon Rapids police say fast-acting officers are the reason a woman is alive, after driving her car into an icy pond early Wednesday.
Squads were dispatched just after 12:30 a.m. to the 1800 block of Northdale Boulevard Northwest after a passerby called 911 to report seeing a vehicle drive off the road and into a holding pond. Responding officers found the car almost completely submerged, with only the roofline and tail lights visible.
Captain John Stahnke says several officers went into the frigid water without hesitating, and found an unresponsive woman in the driver's seat. One officer held her head above water, while others worked to remove her from the vehicle. They eventually broke out the sunroof and pulled her out.
Stahnke says the driver was extremely lethargic, and was taken to nearby Mercy Hospital by ambulance.
Officers searched the pond and determined the woman was the only one in the vehicle.
The preliminary investigation indicates the woman had been driving erratically before crashing into the pond, and authorities found probable cause that she was under the influence at the time of the incident.
"While the officers’ actions clearly saved a life, the more important message is to not get behind the wheel and drive while impaired," reads a news release from Coon Rapids police.