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WATCH: Bystanders use rowboat to rescue victim who accidentally drove into pond

Ottawa Co. Water Rescue
Posted at 4:30 PM, Mar 24, 2023
and last updated 2023-03-25 16:06:15-04

ALLENDALE TOWNSHIP, Mich. — An 83-year-old man is safe after accidentally driving into a pond, thanks to several Good Samaritans who rescued him before the pickup truck sank.

WATCH: Bystanders use rowboat to rescue victim who accidentally drove into pond

Francis Dadson, who saw the whole thing unfold, yelled for help and caught the rescue on camera.

WATCH:

WATCH: Bystanders use rowboat to rescue victim who accidentally drove into pond
WATCH: Bystanders use rowboat to rescue victim

The crash happened just before 1 p.m. near 60th Avenue and Warner Street in Allendale Township, according to the Ottawa County Sheriff's Office.

Deputies say the man from Coopersville was driving north on 60th Avenue when his car left the road, drove through a field and right into a pond.

"All of a sudden, it goes off the curb and it flies up in the air," Dadson explained to FOX 17 Friday. "As you can see in the video, everything was just crazy fast."

Bystanders at the crash scene found and used a rowboat to get out to the pickup truck and save the driver, before the truck sank.

Ottawa Co. Water Rescue

"It was like we need to get him some help because by the time the cops even got there, the car was like sunk," Dadson said. "He ended up busting through the window with his fist. His fist was all cut up and everything."

The sheriff’s office says the driver was taken to a hospital where he is listed in stable condition.

When the man was rescued from the car and brought back to shore, Dadson asked him on camera, "What happened?" The man responded with, "I think I passed out."

The Ottawa County dive team has since taken the car out of the pond.

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