At approximately 1:30pm on Saturday February 12th, a vehicle traveling Eastbound in the 1600 block of Eastport Plaza Drive in Collinsville left the roadway and entered a retention pond.
Multiple calls from witnesses were received via 911 by the Collinsville Communications Center. Within minutes, members of the Collinsville Police Department were on scene. Without hesitation, Officer Dylan Madron entered the ice covered, frigid water, tethered by two k-9 leashes, and attempted to free the lone female driver. Shortly thereafter, the Collinsville Fire Department arrived and Firefighter/Paramedic Jason Warner quickly entered the water to assist Officer Madron. Working in tandem, Officer Madron focused his attention on the driver side of the vehicle while Warner worked on passenger side. As the vehicle began to fill with water, it became increasingly more difficult to free the victim. Eventually, Warner was able to break the passenger window, open the door, rescuing the victim from her fully submerged vehicle. The rescue was done quickly within 5 minutes.
The victim was transported to a local hospital by Collinsville paramedics for medical evaluation. Officer Madron sustained minor injuries to his hands as a result of being cut by broken glass, and was also transported by Collinsville paramedics to a local hospital for treatment.
Fire Chief John Bailot said “Any time a vehicle enters the water with someone inside, time is of the essence. With water temperatures at freezing, the time clock is sped up exponentially. If it was not for the quick actions of officer Madron and Firefighter Warner, the outcome of this incident, in my mind, would have been very different. The actions of Madron and Warner saved a life today.”
Assistant Police Chief Brett Boerm stated “The thing that stands out for me in this incident, aside from the heroic actions of our police officers and firefighters, is that from start to finish, it was a textbook response from all of our first responders. Beginning with the information gathered and disseminated from the telecommunicators on duty to Officer Madron and Firefighter Warner entering extremely frigid conditions, everything worked as it should. Multiple first responder disciplines, coming together as a team, not looking for accolades or glory, to get the mission accomplished.”
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