Utah police officers rescue girl from submerged vehicle
Video from Tooele City (Utah) Police Department captures rescue of young girl in Settlement Canyon Reservoir on June 3. (Tooele City PD/BODY CAMS+/TMX)
Bodycam footage has emerged of police in Utah shooting out the window of a submerged van to rescue a 12-year-old girl who was trapped underwater.
The incident happened in early June at the Settlement Canyon Reservoir in Tooele, outside of Salt Lake City.
In video released by the Tooele City Police Department, a voice can be heard saying, "We got to shoot it out, you are not going to break it with the water in here."
The footage begins with an officer pulling up to a frantic scene on the banks of the reservoir and learning that a 12-year-old girl is trapped in a submerged vehicle.
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The scene at the reservoir in Tooele, Utah, when police arrived on June 3, 2023. (Tooele City PD/BODY CAMS+/TMX)
"Hey, take your boots off, we are doing this," the officer’s colleague is heard telling him as police prepare to enter the water.
"Oh, my God, oh, my God, please get her!" a woman is heard sobbing as the officer try to enter the vehicle.
After calling for goggles and a pry bar, police decided to shoot through a window to get to the trapped child.
"We got an arm!" a voice later is heard saying, before an officer says "We got her out of the car, we are starting CPR."
The Tooele Police Department told KSL-TV that the girl is now recovering well and that investigators believe the van accidentally rolled into the reservoir.
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A Tooele police officer is seen removing gear before getting into the water to rescue the 12-year-old girl. (Tooele City PD/BODY CAMS+/TMX)
Cpt. Colbey Bentley also said to ABC4 that the two officers seen in the bodycam footage were checking water levels near the reservoir that day when witnesses flagged them down to attempt the rescue.
A certified lifeguard who also happened to be in the area participated in the effort, according to Fox13.
Rebecca Sweat, who has been a lifeguard for 17 years and a swim coach for 15, told the station that "it was a life-or-death situation," and that "with that training, I believe that that’s what helped save a life."
A crowd gathered to watch the rescue in the Settlement Canyon Reservoir unfold. (Tooele City PD/BODY CAMS+/TMX)
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"So I’m yelling, just get her to me, just get her to me," Sweat told the station. "I then performed the two rescue breaths, the other officer was out of the water about that time, and started to perform CPR."
Footage broadcast by Fox13 later showed the van being pulled out from the Settlement Canyon Reservoir.
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