ANKENY, IA -- A 70-year-old man was rescued from being trapped underwater in a semi tractor-trailer, KCCI reported.
The front cab portion of the semi, where the driver sits, was almost entirely submerged in Prairie Creek off Interstate 80 when police arrived.
“When I saw it, I was not expecting someone to be alive inside,” Deputy Jeremy Burdess, the first officer on scene, told KCCI.
Burdess approached to investigate and quickly called for help. Soon after, Newton Police Officer Adam Herman and Baxter Police Officer Joe Bartello arrived.
They found the driver, Dwayne Michael, trapped with only a small air pocket to keep him alive. But even the air was deadly, saturated with diesel.
Bartello dove under the dark, murky water, through a hole broken in the windshield and, with the help of the other officers, pulled the man out and to safety.
“I just had to feel where he was and help him through it,” Bartello told the Des Moines Register.
Michael’s son Mark later told KCCI that his father had sustained bruised ribs and cuts but otherwise was fine.
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