A woman in Willimantic was pulled from her sinking car Monday night by strangers who ran to help her.
According to Willimantic Fire Chief Marc Scrivener, the driver was having mechanical issues and was attempting to sort them out in the parking lot at Bridge Street Plaza when she accelerated to the point of crashing through a fence and into the river.
"Pretty significant drop into the river," said Scrivener, who estimated that the car dropped about 15 to 20 feet into the water. “The car was pretty well full when we arrived.”
Before firefighters arrived on scene, someone noticed the car in the river and ran to the restaurant, El Guanajuato Restaurante, across the parking lot to alert others.
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“I didn't have time to think about it," said Manuel Gonzalez, owner of El Guanajuato Restaurante.
Gonzalez and one of his customers, James Preston, immediately ran to help the driver.
“I saw her waving her hands at us and screaming. I asked her if she was okay. She said yes and I said, 'stay still don’t move. We are going to come down to you,'" said Preston, who used to be a volunteer firefighter.
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Looking for a way to get to her, Preston noticed a tree trunk by the edge of the bridge.
"It had all of the branches cut off it and when I saw it, I thought of a fire pole as soon as I saw it. So I said to Manny, 'go down the tree,'" said Preston.
Gonzalez made his way down the tree and Preston followed. Eventually, the two were able to pull her up through her sun roof and carry her over to the rocks. They waited below until firefighters could arrive with a ladder.
Gonzalez and Preston said the woman was talking and walking fine, but she was taken to the hospital by ambulance for evaluation.
“I think she is extraordinarily lucky to be alive," said Scrivener.
Firefighters stayed on scene for hours, working with a local tow company to retrieve the car from the water.
Scrivener praised Gonzalez and Preston for their selfless actions, saying they make him proud to be a member of the Willimantic community.
“Just do the right thing. Helping people is always the right thing," said Preston.
Gonzalez agreed, "and I will do it again if I have to for anybody.”
