CENTENNIAL, Colo. — A Good Samaritan saved the lives of two women who crashed in a car and were submerged in freezing water with just inches of breathing room, the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office said.
Around 1 a.m. on Feb. 22, deputies with the Adams County Sheriff's Office responded to a 911 call for help. However, the caller was only heard saying "please" over and over, and did not respond to questions.
The sheriff's office said the emergency Rapid SOS system showed there had been a crash and that the caller was on S. Lima Street between E. Easter Avenue and E. Arapahoe Road, which is a stretch about half a mile long.
Deputies responded to the area. There were no crashes on the roadway, so they used flashlights to try to see if a car had left the road. During this search, a man flagged down the deputies and showed them where he thought the crash had happened. He told authorities he had seen a black SUV speed by him and fly off the road and into a ditch, the sheriff's office said.
Deputies searched a creek bed, but this was difficult due to the deep snow, rocks and thick vegetation. Finally, they saw tire tracks and followed the trail to find a car upside down and submerged in the creek.
"Deputies waded through the water, sometimes chest-deep, while breaking ice to reach the vehicle in 22-degree weather," the sheriff's office said. "When they finally reached it, they could hear someone inside screaming and crying and responding to their calls."
The deputies forced a rear door open and pulled one woman out. Other first responders helped her up the steep embankment. A second woman was extricated with the Jaws of Life by South Metro Fire Rescue crews.
The women, who were 22 and 24 years old, were brought to a hospital and "miraculously" had only minor injuries, the sheriff's office said.
Watch the sheriff's office body-worn camera footage of the rescue in the video below.
Patrol Lt. Mike Reed said authorities never would have found the car that night without the Good Samaritan.
“When I first saw the vehicle, I thought there was no chance of anyone being alive with the amount of damage it had," he said. "The women were submerged in freezing water for 15 to 20 minutes with just inches of breathing room. Had we not found them at that moment, they would have succumbed to hypothermia within minutes, and this would have been a completely different outcome."
The sheriff's office said both women were highly intoxicated and the driver was charged with DUI.
“That witness was in the right place at the right time," said Deputy Helveston. "It was late at night, there was barely anyone on the road, and the chances of these two women surviving were slim, especially being upside down submerged in frigid waters with no way to escape."
The Good Samaritan has not been identified.
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