CLINTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. – The Clinton Township Police Department rescued a man who drove his car into a pond on New Year’s Eve, police said.
At about 1:50 a.m. on Dec. 31, 2024, officers responded to the Harbors Apartment Complex on Bayview after receiving several calls about a vehicle that had driven into a retention pond. The callers said that there was at least one person inside the vehicle.
When they arrived, they found a dark-colored SUV in the middle of the pond, with a man in the driver’s seat.
The vehicle had been floating on the surface of the water, but Clinton Township Sgt. Bates noticed that the front end of the car started to sink, and said they needed take action quickly before it was submerged.
The officers told the driver to exit the vehicle, but we wouldn’t come out.
“Without hesitation Sgt. Bates entered the freezing waters of retention pond and swam to the car,” Clinton Township police said. “When Sgt. Bates reached the vehicle driver side door, he observed the driver moving around in the car but not coming toward the open driver side window. Sgt. Bates yelled to the male to exit the car, but the male was not responding.”
The vehicle quickly sank and was almost fully submerged when Bates reached it.
He pulled the driver out of the car and stabilized him on a life jacket, according to police.
As soon as Bates got the driver out, the car sank to the bottom of the pond.
Bates held onto a rescue rope and other officers pulled them out of the water.
“We are extremely proud of the actions taken by all officers of Platoon C, but without the heroic actions of Sgt. Bates the driver may have suffered a fatal outcome,” the Clinton Township Police Department said. “Job Well Done!!”
