Johnson County Dive Team members go into the pond at the northwest corner of the roundabout on West Jefferson Street in Franklin to pull out a submerged truck.
Photos provided by Franklin Fire Department
Bystanders took action when they saw a pickup truck submerging in a pond during the morning commute Monday in Franklin.
At about 8:09 a.m. Franklin Fire Department received calls that a westbound pickup truck left the roadway in the northwest corner of the roundabout at West Jefferson Street, State Road 44, State Road 144 and Westview Drive. The vehicle went over the curb and traveled down the embankment and to rest in a drainage pond, said Joshua Snyder, Franklin fire chief.
By the time firefighters arrived, a woman and a young child were already recused by several bystanders who took quick action. The accident survivors did not need medical attention, Snyder said.
The reason the car left the roadway is unknown, he said.
About five or six people pitched in to help in different ways. Two bystanders who helped at the scene said they just wanted to make sure everyone was OK, so they paused what they were doing to help.
Dave Armbruster, a Johnson County probation officer, had just dropped his daughter off at school and was on his way to work when he saw the accident happen. He circled the roundabout to get in position to help, he said.
As Armbruster approached, he could hear the woman calling for help from her open window. He and another man set to work trying to get her free as someone else rescued the child, who was strapped into a car seat.
The water was chest deep when they waded in and it seemed like forever as they worked to get the women free from the truck. They were working against gravity as the truck sank lower into the pond, Armbruster said.
They freed her as the truck fully submerged in the pond, he said.
What’s most remarkable to Armbruster is how calm the woman and child were in this tense, potentially life-or-death situation. Rescuers also didn’t have time to think about the danger, their instincts guided them, he said.
“It happened so fast that lady was so brave … Everyone just pitched in and it was awesome to see,” Armbruster said.
Amanda Taylor, a Johnson County deputy coroner and a paramedic for Bargersville Community Fire Department, was on her way to a doctor’s appointment in the area and she noticed the truck in the water while driving through the roundabout. She pulled into a parking lot off the roundabout and called 911.
“I’m a paramedic so I was like something has to be done here,” Taylor said. “I saw the woman waving her arms and saying ‘I need help’ and knew I had to do something.”
She brought blankets that were in her car to dry off the woman child. She also held the child while her mother was being pulled from the truck. Both the woman and the child didn’t have any injuries and seemed well, she said.
“I’m glad someone saw her because this could have been a lot different,” Taylor said.
