Good Samaritans helped rescue a 91-year-old patient inside a submerged Williston Fire Department ambulance in North Dakota on Thanksgiving night, according to a new report.
The ambulance hit black ice on Highway 83, roughly 20 miles south of Minot, and landed in icy water. Three crew members were able to escape by breaking a side cab window with an ice scraper, according to a report in the Minot Daily News.
The patient was trapped in the back of the ambulance, standing in water with ice up to her armpits. Three drivers stopped to help, including a service member from nearby Minot Air Force Base.
The good Samaritans were eventually able to break into the compartment using a car jack and used a tow-rope to pull the patient to safety.
“The whole thing probably took about 10 minutes from the time I got there, but it seemed like much longer,” Tech. Sgt. Ryan Fontaine told the newspaper.
The crew members and the patient were treated for hypothermia.