Jan. 07--Washington Township firefighters rescued an unidentified woman from the Maumee River in the downtown Toledo area Sunday. The woman was alive but "clinging to life," Assistant Fire Chief Jim Binieda said.
"She was out there a long time," Chief Binieda said. "She was pretty much limp by the time we got to her."
No further information about the woman's condition was available. The incident is still under investigation.
Authorities were alerted about 11:30 a.m. after a person in the Grand Plaza Hotel saw a woman walking on the ice near the Imagination Station, according to reports. The woman was submerged in the water, clinging to ice, when the township's two hovercrafts reached her, Chief Binieda said. She was about 200 yards from the docks near the Imagination Station. The "currents were pretty swift," the chief said.
Assisting with the rescue were the Toledo Fire Department and the U.S. Coast Guard. The Washington Township Fire Department, which owns the two hovercrafts, responds to water-rescue emergencies in the Toledo area, including in Monroe.
Toledo fire Lt. Matthew Hertzfeld said, "We had two divers on the ice." He said Washington Township personnel reached her in their hovercrafts, pulled her out of the water, and took her to the nearby boat basin. From there she was taken by life squad to Mercy St. Vincent Medical Center. He had no information on her condition or her name or address.
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