Atlas Twp. – Elizabeth Adams was trying to be a responsible motorist last weekend when she tried to mail a card instead of driving to a friend’s evening birthday party .
The card’and Elizabeth’ended up trapped underwater.
As Adams, 76, carefully winded her way westbound on Hegel Road at about 11 a.m. Jan. 17, the car started to slide.
‘I went in a rut and it threw me to the left,? said Adams. ‘I tried to swerve to the right but I was going downhill, and it flipped me into the water.?
After hitting an embankment, the back of Adams? white 1992 Buick Century flew over the hood, landing upside down, gradually sinking below the ice.
‘I didn’t realize I was in the water until the water started to come in the window,? she said.
Freeing herself from behind the steering wheel, Adams slid to the passenger side of the car. Unable to open the window, she kept trying to get out.
‘I pushed and pushed on the door but there was ice on there,? Adams said. As the water continued to seep in to chest level, Adams began to lose hope.
‘I made my peace with God, I thought I’m going to be with my daughter who died last year,? she said.
As she prayed, Adams caught a brief glimpse of a foot in motion above her submerged window.
Jerry Scheddel of Macomb, Mich. was visiting his uncle Ken Abeare in Goodrich that Saturday. He drove past the Hegel Road pond just after the accident. Seeing a woman making a cell phone call and another motorist standing at the side of the road, he pulled his truck over.
‘I saw a car upside down in the lake. Its windows were under the water,? said Scheddel, 39.
‘Somebody’s trapped in there,? he heard. As Scheddel stepped onto the ice, it broke, soaking him to the knees. He climbed back onto the ice and continued until he reached the car.
Inside the vehicle, Adams heard a shout: ‘Is anybody in there??
‘I’m in here,? she said. ‘Can you get me out??
As Deputy Dave McDonald of the Atlas Township Sheriff’s Precinct arrived, motorist Raymond Hioe was trying to pry open the door as Scheddel tried to chop through the ice with a two-by-four board to free the car door from the ice. Adams was advised to push from inside the car. As she did, the door opened a few inches.
‘Cover your eyes,? she was told, as the men broke the door open.
Scheddel grabbed Adams beneath the shoulders, and with the help of Hioe, McDonald and another motorist, Chris Tanner, was able to carry her away from the icy wreckage.
A crack encircling the Buick gave way, and they plunged into the freezing water, but were able to make their way to the embankment where fire, police, and ambulance lights were flashing and a crowd had gathered.
‘You’re my hero,? McDonald told Scheddel, who retired from the U.S. Coast Guard last July.
Adams and the impromptu team of heroes were fortunate. Due to a steep dropoff in the pond, had the car slid out six feet farther onto the ice, the rescue could have been impossible, Scheddel said.
Many coats were taken off and thrown over Adams, who was soaking wet and shaking. She warmed up in a waiting ambulance, said Lt. Jeff Slagle of the Atlas Township Fire Department.
‘I couldn’t hold still, I was shivering from the cold,? Adams said. ‘All I could think was I wanted to go home and take a hot bath.?
To cut medical costs, Adams opted not to be transported for medical care.
‘There were people there who saved the day. Those three guys are heroes in my book,? said McDonald, who said the ‘adrenaline was in full gear? during the rescue.
‘If she wasn’t able to get out of the car she would have died, McDonald said.?
Safe in her Hadley Township home this week, Adams conveyed an emotional message to her rescuers.
‘I would just like to say I want to thank all of them,? she said, fighting to regain composure. ‘They’re all my heroes.?