Dramatic Rescue from Pond in Madrona

Yesterday , at 1:21PM, our police department received a call for a vehicle that had driven into the water at Concord and Wildspring in Madronna Village.

I would like you all to know that two of our officers were the first to arrive on scene and immediately swam out to rescue the occupant of the vehicle. Police Chief Cliffton Metaxa and Officer Kraig Kapusinski along with a Sheriffs Deputy in the area, swan out to the vehicle and pulled a lady out of the vehicle to safety.

Several other officers arrived along with the fire department and assisted the officers out of the water. The vehicle was eventually located and pulled from the water where it was determined no other occupants were in the vehicle. The occupant was transported to the hospital and it is believed she had a medical condition that may have contributed to the accident.

From Daily Herald--- A woman had to be rescued from her car after driving it into a retention pond in Round Lake Wednesday afternoon.

Police said the unidentified 28-year-old Round Lake Park woman was driving east on Concord Drive and drove directly into the pond where Concord dead-ends with Wildspring Road.

Police officials said witnesses reported the woman didn't appear to try and turn the Chevrolet Cavalier she was driving at the intersection. She was transported to Condell Medical Center in Libertyville. Hospital officials would not release her condition.

Round Lake Police Lt. Pete Molidor said the crash occurred around 1:20 p.m. The car was floating in the pond when emergency workers arrived at the scene, but sank after rescuers popped a window in order to rescue the unresponsive woman.

The car was eventually extracted from the pond. The investigation is ongoing, Molidor said. Police have not interviewed the woman and no citations have been issued.

From the News Sun-- Woman rescued from sinking car-- Drove into pond in Round Lake

ROUND LAKE -- Quick teamwork by rescuers helped save the life of a woman who drove her car into a pond Wednesday afternoon.

First responders were able to reach the woman and pull her out of her car before it fully submerged, after it went crashing into the Madrona Village retention pond near Route 120 and Wildspring Road, in Round Lake.

The unidentified woman was westbound on Concord Drive around 1 p.m. when she failed to yield at Wildspring, and drove her gold Chevy Cavalier into the large retention pond.

Round Lake Police Chief Cliff Metaxa was one of the first on the scene Wednesday. When he arrived he said he saw the car nose first in the water, about 70 feet off shore. Before divers arrived he jumped into the chilly water and swam to the car where the woman, who he described in her 30s, was in neck-deep water.

Metaxa was joined by Round Lake Police Officer Kraig Kapusinski, Round Lake Firefighter Jay Vandeberg and off-duty Sheriff's Deputy Stephen Hennelly. The four were able to break a window in the car and pull the woman to shore where she was taken away by an ambulance.

"I credit the officers that were in the water with me," Metaxa said. "Along with the firefighters, we were able to save a life today."

Metaxa said the woman was conscious but disoriented. She was taken to Condell Medical Center in Libertyville, where her condition was unknown.

The accident was still under investigation Wednesday afternoon. Round Lake officers did not know how the woman wound up in the pond, or if citations would be issued. No tracks were visible leading from the road into the pond. Tire marks were visible on the curb and it appears the vehicle was airborne when it entered the pond.

Divers worked with a tow truck to pull the car from the bottom of the pond, which is deeper than 8 feet at its center.

When the car was pulled out of the pond, it was caked with mud and grass. Water filled it up to its windows and the windshield wipers were working. Firefighters poked holes in the door and smashed windows to allow it to drain.

The accident drew large crowds to the quiet subdivision. Resident Jim Kerwin was among those gathered around the pond. He was working in his backyard about a block from the pond when the accident occurred. He said he heard what sounded like a crash and then a bunch of geese squawking as they flew away.

"I didn't really think anything of it," Kerwin said.