Share
Lifestyle & Human Interest

Cop Uses Abandoned Kayak To Save Woman Trapped in Sinking Car

Share

What do you do when the unexpected happens? I suspect that most of us like to think that we’d respond with aplomb.

But I’m not so sure about that. So much of our life rotates around a routine that a truly surprising occurrence tends to throw us off balance.

Fortunately, some people manage to keep their wits about them in even the strangest circumstances. Bill and Linda Tilley are such people, as well as a Trenton, Michigan, police sergeant.

Trending:
KJP Panics, Hangs Up in Middle of Interview When Reporter Shows He Isn't a Democratic Party Propagandist

According to WXYZ, the Tilleys were out for a drive on Dec. 17. Their course took them down by the Detroit River.

While they were peering out at the body of water, they noticed a splash — a really big splash. In fact, it was so large that Linda thought a bird had plunged into the river looking for food.

“I said, ‘Did you see that big splash?’” Linda Tilley recalled. “(Bill) said, ‘Yeah,’ (and) I said, ‘What was it?’

“He said it was a cormorant. I said, ‘It was not,’ and so I said, ‘Stop the car.’”

It turned out that Linda Tilley was right. A car had made that big splash, and it still had a passenger inside.

A woman in her 40s had somehow lost control of her vehicle and it had landed in the drink. As Bill and Linda Tilley watched, it slowly began to sink into the Detroit River.

According to WPBF, Bill Tilley called 911 and said, “There’s a car in the river. It just went in on the Trenton side of the Trenton River.

“There is someone in the car. They’re tapping their brake lights. The car is floating.”



Related:
Son from TLC's 'Sister Wives' Dies at Age 25

Soon enough, a sergeant from the Trenton Police Department arrived, but he faced a dilemma: How in the world could he get out to the vehicle that was in the middle of the river and rapidly filling with water?

Instead of waiting for more help, the sergeant turned to the tools he had at hand. He spied someone’s kayak and, scooping up a paddle, the sergeant seized it and began to make his way out into the river.

“He grabbed a kayak from a house and paddled to the car,” Director of Police and Fire Services Steven Voss told The News-Herald. “He broke the window out with a paddle and pulled her out.”

Linda Tilley praised the sergeant for his ingenuity. “It was quick thinking on their part to just grab a kayak and get out there, because the car was starting to sink by then, and shortly after the kayak went back to shore, the car was gone.”

Neither the sergeant nor the woman was identified by name, and the woman was taken to an area hospital. Reports say that she was alert on the ride over.

Truth and Accuracy

Submit a Correction →



We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.

Tags:
, , , ,
Share
A graduate of Wheaton College with a degree in literature, Loren also adores language. He has served as assistant editor for Plugged In magazine and copy editor for Wildlife Photographic magazine.
A graduate of Wheaton College with a degree in literature, Loren also adores language. He has served as assistant editor for Plugged In magazine and copy editor for Wildlife Photographic magazine. Most days find him crafting copy for corporate and small-business clients, but he also occasionally indulges in creative writing. His short fiction has appeared in a number of anthologies and magazines. Loren currently lives in south Florida with his wife and three children.
Education
Wheaton College
Location
Florida
Languages Spoken
English
Topics of Expertise
Entertainment, Faith, Travel




Conversation