CLINTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. – An officer rescued an unresponsive driver from a sinking SUV in a Clinton Township apartment pond.
The incident occurred on Dec. 31, 2024, at 1:50 a.m. when officers dispatched were advised they received several calls on a vehicle that had driven into a retention pond in the Harbors Apartment Complex on Bayview Avenue.
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The callers advised that there appeared to be at least one person inside the vehicle.
When officers arrived on the south side of the pond, they observed the dark-colored SUV in the middle of the pond.
Officers on the scene also observed a man in the driver’s seat vehicle.
After observing the vehicle, it was obvious it was floating on the water’s surface.
Sgt. Bates noticed that the vehicle’s front end began to sink slowly and identified that action would need to be taken before it was completely submerged.
Officers attempted to instruct the driver to exit the vehicle, but he would not come out.
Without hesitation, Sgt. Bates entered the freezing waters of the retention pond and swam to the car.
When Sgt. Bates reached the vehicle’s driver-side door, he observed the driver moving around in the car but not coming toward the open driver-side window.
Sgt. Bates yelled at the male to exit the vehicle, but the man did not respond.
The car began to sink rapidly, and the open window was almost completely submerged when Sgt. Bates reached into the car and pulled the driver under the water and out of the vehicle.
Sgt. Bates stabilized the driver on a lifejacket and held onto a rescue rope as other officers pulled Sgt. Bates and the driver to safety.
As soon as Sgt. Bates had extracted the driver, the vehicle sank to the bottom of the pond and was completely submerged.
