SHELBY TWP, Mich. (WXYZ) — A mother and her two children are safe after their car flipped into a pond in Shelby Township, with bystanders jumping into action to rescue them.
Paul Sutton and his family were stopped at a red light on Hall Road when they witnessed the car fishtail while turning from Hayes to Hall Road before plunging into a retention pond.
"Watched this car make a turn from Hayes to Hall Road and fishtailed it like crazy… and sent it in the retention pond out back," Sutton said.
Sutton immediately pulled over and ran to help, finding a teenage girl struggling to open the car door.
"As I got out I saw a car door going up and there was a little girl, maybe around 15ish or so and she couldn't get the door open… I went into the water and got into the car and helped her get the door open and she crawled out," Sutton said.
After rescuing the teenager, she informed Sutton that her baby sister was still trapped inside the vehicle in a car seat.
"More water was coming in… luckily the airbags pushed her seat up and kept her out of the water," Sutton said.
Michael Tortomose, another bystander who stopped to help, assisted in the rescue effort after his GPS accidentally directed him to the scene.
"We seen the car, but we also heard a fire engine so we figured the fire engine was for this accident, quickly realized that fire engine was not for this accident so right away I knew we had to do something," Tortomose said.
Tortomose helped the mother out of the vehicle while Sutton handed him the baby.
"I assisted the mother out, and Paul over here passed me the baby and it happened really quick and everyone got out," Tortomose said.
Sutton, who serves as a reserve deputy with the Macomb County Sheriff's Office ATV Unit, credits his training for helping him respond effectively to the emergency.
"Just being a first responder, helping people in need, I went to school for law enforcement… just what I do, help people," Sutton said.
The two men say they plan to keep in touch and hope to develop a friendship following their shared heroic experience.
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