Police officers in a Chicago suburb are being hailed as heroes after they leapt into action to save three people whose car had crashed into an icy pond.
The incident took place Sunday, Dec. 14, according to the Glendale Heights Police Department, which shared body camera footage of the dramatic rescue on social media Wednesday.
According to a Facebook post, at approximately 1:35 a.m. on Sunday, the department dispatched officers to a small pond near Burdette Avenue and Roberta Avenue, where a vehicle was completely submerged in approximately 12 feet of water.
The department said responding Officers Dennis Stachura and Marco Lomibao quickly located "three individuals in the water approximately 20-30 feet from the shoreline."
Stachura recounted the moment officers spotted people in the water, telling ABC News Chicago station WLS, "We started to see, you know, people's hands in the water -- reaching out for air or just to stay afloat."
"They were saying, 'Help us, save us,'" Lomibao added.
The two officers "immediately began life saving operations as they attempted to keep the victims afloat and navigate the water, ice and dangerous air temperatures," the department wrote in its Facebook post Wednesday.
Eventually, using shovels to help the victims stay afloat and moving the thick ice with a sledgehammer, they were able to reach down to the victims to pull them out of the water and up onto the ice.
"At that point, it was life or death, and we both decided to choose life, and we're not going to let anything happen on our end," Lomibao said.
The department wrote on Facebook that "additional responding officers," along with the Glenside Fire Protection District, quickly arrived on the scene and were able to help Stachura and Lomibao pull the victims up onto the shore.
"Upon evaluation, all three victims were treated for minor injuries, and there were no injuries sustained to the officers," the department wrote, noting that "the air temperature at the time of this incident was approximately 1 degree Fahrenheit."
Glendale Heights Police Chief George Pappas said in a statement included in the Facebook post, "Our officers are always ready and prepared for any situation. What could have been a tragic accident turned into heroic actions by Officers Stachura and Lomibao, and other responding officers on scene."
He added, "I want to commend them for their selfless acts as they put their own lives at risk to rescue these three individuals. Our officers are dedicated to protecting and serving the residents of the Village of Glendale Heights every day."
The department wrote that the driver of the vehicle was later charged with driving under the influence.
