Monday, March 9, 2015

MOM DIES, TODDLER SURVIVES 13 HOURS IN UPSIDE-DOWN CAR IN FRIGID SPANISH FORK RIVER IN UTAH










MARCH 8, 2015


SPANISH FORK, UTAH


Toddler Survives 13 Hours in Upside-Down Car in Frigid Utah River (ABC News)

An 18-month-old girl was in critical condition today and her mother is dead after their car crashed in a frigid Utah river and they were not found for 13 hours, police said.


The car was upside-down when it was discovered at around 12:30 p.m. Saturday in the Spanish Fork River, about 50 miles south of Salt Lake City, the Spanish Fork Public Safety Department said.


Emergency crews tipped the car on its side and found the baby in a car seat in the back, officials reported.


"The baby was in a car seat in the backseat on the passenger side," Lt. Cory Slaymaker, Spanish Fork Police Departments said. "The vehicle was on its top, so the car seat could have been out of the water. The car was on the embankment, so I don't know how much water was getting into the car."


He said the water was so cold that the rescue crew members could only stay in for short periods of time.


It is believed the car was in the river for more than 13 hours, police said.

"Where the car was at you couldnt see it from the roadway," Slaymaker said.

A nearby resident reported hearing something around 10:30 p.m. Friday, but didn't see "anything out of the ordinary," the public safety department said.

The woman may have hit a cement barrier on a bridge before driving into the river, officials said, but it is unknown why she left the road.


Authorities think the child, who was strapped to her car seat in the back seat of the vehicle throughout the ordeal, was able to survive temperatures in the upper 20s because of the unlikely way that that the vehicle landed in the Spanish Fork River.


“It’s miraculous that the child was able to survive,” Spanish Fork Police Lt. Matt Johnson told The Washington Post. “EMS stated that due to the way the car flipped into the river, the rear portion of the vehicle was far enough out of the water that the child was able to remain dry.”


Johnson said that water also was able to flow through the vehicle instead of sweeping it away.



When a fisherman discovered the vehicle about 12:30 p.m. Saturday, it was resting upside-down in the water, police said. Authorities arrived a short time later and discovered the toddler strapped in her car seat, police said. The water was so cold that seven emergency responders were treated for hypothermia, according to KSTU Fox 13 Salt Lake City.


A family spokeswoman told the station that doctors said the child was doing well, considering what she had endured.


After checking the roadway for signs of evasive maneuvers, investigators are still trying to determine what caused the vehicle to strike a concrete barrier before plunging 15 to 20 feet off the roadway and into the river below, police said. Johnson noted that weather was clear at the time of the accident.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Johnson said. “It’s a tragedy because of the death of the mother, but we’re very happy that the little girl survived.”


Three police officers and four firefighters were transported to a hospital for treatment of hypothermia. Those responders have since been treated and released.


The Spanish Fork Police Department and Utah Highway Patrol were investigating the accident.

Source: fox13now.com