Mich. Firefighter Rescues Teen From Car in River

HOPKINS, Mich. -- A teen was rescued from her car Monday afternoon after the car left the roadway, and rolled into a nearby body of water.

The crash happened around 3:20 p.m. near the intersection of 130th Ave. and 18th St. in Hopkins, Allegan County. Rescuers were able to pull 17-year-old Allie Teed out of the car, which was flipped over on its roof in the river.

Teed was on her way home from Martin High School when she lost control and ended up in the river.

"I saw water start rushing in the car and my first though was, okay, this is not going to be good," said Allie Teed, who added she though she would drown.

Allie said she lost control on slush and ice while driving home from school. Soon, she was going backward down 130th street before crashing through a guard rail and ending up upside down in a creek.

"Took off my seat belt, sat up straight in the car and tried to get the door open -- screaming and crying -- trying to honk my horn but it wasn't making much noise so I gave up on that. Tried kicking the door but it wasn't moving," Teed said.

A person passing by called 9-1-1 and minutes later a Hopkins firefighter who lives near the crash site was charging into the frigged water surrounding Teed and her SUV.

"I Had to get her out of the water," said Ed Wamhoff, a Hopkins firefighter. "It's cold and cold water kills real quick."

Both recall what happened next in vivid detail.

"They got the passenger side door open, someone grabbed my hand," Teed said.

"Told her if she wanted to come out she'd have to let go with her other hand, go under the console, go under the water and get out," said Wamhoff.

"And I said, 'well, I want out, so I'm going under the water."

Teed couldn't feel her body and couldn't talk when rescuers got her to the bank. But amazingly, once she warmed up she was fine. Teed was even able to skip a trip the the hospital in favor of leaving with her parents.

She has a special message for her rescuer.

"Thank you for everything, like, oh my gosh," said Teed. "He jumped in there to get me out... it takes someone special to do that."

Rescue crews arrived on scene and reported having the woman out of the vehicle a short time later. Police say the woman was not injured.

McClatchy-Tribune News Service