OWEGO, N.Y. — A New York police officer is being hailed a hero after he saved the life of a man trapped for 10 hours in a car with no heat that was buried in snow.
According to New York State Police, 58-year-old Kevin Kresen was driving during Wednesday's snowstorm when he ran his car off the road. A short time later, Kresen became trapped when a snowplow covered his car with four feet of snow.
On Thursday, Sgt. Jason Cawley was notified after Tioga County authorities received several 911 calls from Kresen, saying he needed assistance. But other law enforcement in the area couldn't locate the driver.
According to the police department's Facebook page, Sgt. Cawley drove out to the area where Kresen said he'd be but couldn't find him at first.
But after driving around, Sgt. Cawley came across a row of mailboxes and began digging to check the addresses, and while searching, he hit Kresen's windshield.
According to the Facebook post, Kresen had been trapped for more than 10 hours with no heat due to a "broken serpentine belt."
Kresen was removed from the vehicle and taken to a nearby hospital with hypothermia and frostbite, according to police.
"The actions of Sgt. Cawley no doubt saved the driver's life," the Facebook post said.
According to USA Today, Owego received about 40 inches of snow in a 24-hour period.