Rowing team helps to rescue driver from submerged car

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (WHDH) – A driver was rescued by a rowing team at a nearby university when his vehicle turned off a bridge into the water.

No injuries were reported after the driver was rescued from the Charles River on Monday evening.

“It was terrifying. You know, I think to myself, ‘Is the person driving it okay?’ “Said Mark McDermott, who was jogging during the incident.

He noticed that a mother and her child narrowly missed the car when it turned off the bridge.

“A woman and her child had just passed by. So we’re really talking about five seconds the car is going between, you know, whatever 30 to 40 mph is right now, ”he said.

McDermott said he saw the car window shut down before a crew of first responders arrived and he felt things would be fine.

“It was floating, the window was closing, I saw a hand come out and wave, and I said, ‘Okay, he’ll be fine,'” he said.

The Northeastern University rowing team said two of their assistant coaches helped get this rider to safety.

The crew team was in the water at just the right moment when the car splashed into the river.

“Because a rowboat passed like the rowboat, it swings back, throws a life jacket at him, and pulls him out,” said McDermott.

A diving team arrived to make sure no one needed to be rescued.

The emergency services worked well into the evening, preparing to lift this car out of the river with water up to the windshield. Eventually they dragged the car out of the water and onto dry land.

McDermott said he was grateful that everyone was doing well and was happy to be returning to his run after an eventful evening.

“I kind of want to end my jog, but I’m just grateful that everyone is fine, especially the woman and child,” said McDermott. “They were the ones who narrowly escaped.”

The authorities are investigating the cause of the accident.

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