INKSTER, Mich. – A call to 911 had Inkster police running to find a suicidal woman.
All officers knew was the woman was threatening to drive her car into a body of water and kill herself.
Two rookie officers found her car after police say she drove at such a high rate of speed she cleared one side of the lower Rouge River.
“She hit the west bank and the car starts to slide, but she survived the crash,” assistant Inkster police Chief Bill Ratliff said.
”It was a situation where we knew we needed to act fast,” Inkster police officer M. Clary said.
Officers removed their bulletproof vests and jumped into the freezing river.
“It was probably at least waist high,” Inkster police officer Drew Maceachern said.
The woman initially fought police, but they told her they understood. They calmed her down enough to get her out of the water.
“This is a bad situation for them,” Clary said. “Typically we get called on the worst days, we don’t typically get called to say happy birthday to people -- so you’ve got to understand that people have heightened emotions.”
If you, or someone you know, is struggling with suicidal thoughts you are not alone. Help is available. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is available 24/7 to provide support at 800-273-8255.
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