SPOKANE, Wash. — A passerby helped a pregnant woman after his car slid off Upriver Drive and into the Spokane River on Saturday morning.
This comes as winter weather moved into the Spokane area on Friday, blanketing the area with snow and making for slick roads.
Spokane police said the vehicle was traveling south on Freya Street and approaching Upriver Drive when it slid through the intersection, over the curb and down the hillside.
The vehicle ended up at about a 45-degree angle, with the driver’s side facing down into the river, police said. The driver, who is 36 weeks pregnant, could not get out of the partially submerged vehicle.
Joseph Ader was driving by when he saw the vehicle. Police said he traversed the snow-covered hill down to the crashed vehicle, climbed on top and noticed there was damage to windshield.
Ader was able to grab the windshield and pull the glass away from the vehicle, creating a large enough hole for the driver to climb out, police said.
Once the woman was out of the vehicle, they both waited at the river’s edge for emergency personnel to help them up the hill.
The woman was taken to the hospital with minor injuries for precautionary reasons due to her pregnancy.
“We would like to thank Joseph for taking the actions he did. Due to the slippery hillside he went down, frigid water temperatures and the 18-degree air temperature, he truly risked his life to save the life of a stranger and her unborn child,” Spokane Police Cpl. Ron Van Tassel wrote on Saturday.
