Woman In Critical Condition After Car Submerges In Local Pond

Indianapolis Fire Department reports a woman is in critical condition at Eskenazi Hospital after her car broke through the ice of a retention pond and completely submerged on New Year's Eve. IFD says the incident took place just before 8:30 p.m. at 4909 Sunview Circle of Sundance Apartments, as the woman called 911 from inside the car and pleaded for help. Officials say bystanders also called 911, and the woman's phone disconnected after one minute and 45 seconds in.

IFD says Tactical Dive Team 7 crews responded and diver Ben Roberts quickly dove in upon arrival, in his first operational dive as primary diver since graduating from dive school in October. IFD reports Roberts made contact with the car, sitting 20 feet from shore and 12 feet down. Brett Gildersleeve dove in as backup and located the woman inside the car before both pulled her up out of the sunroof within four minutes of entering the water.

According to IFD, there was a lot of confusion for the divers as reports to dispatch indicted there was more than one occupant in the car, however the dispatcher who talked to the woman in the car said she didn't indicate additional passengers.

IFD Battalion Chief Rita Reith said efforts to hook and retrieve the car were stopped after divers' gear froze and their safety became compromised.

As of New Year's Day, IFD says Special Operations is currently reviewing and assessing weather conditions to determine whether or not retrieval of the vehicle is feasible Monday as weather conditions are too dangerous to risk putting a diver in the water for retrieval.

#IFD Tac 7 Dive Rescue
Sundance Apartments pic.twitter.com/peSQ9K9fSt
— IFD NEWS (@IFD_NEWS) January 1, 2018

Indianapolis Woman Rescued After Car Sank Into Any Icy Pond

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