CLEARWATER — Two Clearwater police officers rescued a woman from a vehicle that was rapidly sinking into a pond Thursday evening after it crashed off the roadway near the intersection of McMullen Booth Road and Enterprise Road.
Clearwater Police and Clearwater Fire & Rescue responded to the scene at approximately 6:34 p.m.
According to police, Officers Jonathan Hurt and Hunter Smaldone arrived to find the vehicle quickly becoming submerged. The officers immediately entered the water and swam to the vehicle.
The driver’s side door was locked, and the officers attempted to communicate with the driver, asking her to unlock it. When she did not respond, Officer Hurt broke the driver’s side window, unlocked the door, and pulled the woman from the vehicle.
The two officers then safely brought the 45-year-old woman to shore.
She was transported to Mease Countryside Hospital for treatment. Her condition has not been released.
Because visibility in the murky water prevented officers from determining whether anyone else was inside the vehicle, a Clearwater Fire & Rescue diver entered the pond to confirm the woman was the only occupant.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
