STAMFORD, Conn. — Stamford firefighters rescued two people from a sinking pick-up truck on Monday, after it ended up in the water at Cummings Park. It happened in the middle of the snowstorm. Stamford police say the people were doing 'donuts' in the parking lot, before accidentally going into the water. Frank Docimo, the mechanical supervisor for the Stamford fire department, was the first to arrive.
"I was the only person here, so you know you have that split-second decision of, 'do I do something?' But I was the only source of information for everybody coming here so the best place for me to be was on the shore relaying the information," he said.
He heard a banging noise coming from the truck and called for more help knowing people were trapped inside.
"The female occupant was sitting on the back of the truck, the front of the truck was underwater, the male occupant was still inside the cab of the truck," said Fire Chief Trevor Roach.
Crews were able to get the female into the bucket of their ladder truck quickly, but getting the male out was more difficult. The truck eventually sank, and he was underwater for about 30 to 45 seconds before firefighters were able to pull him out of a back window on the truck. Three rescue swimmers were in the water, and the dive team was also on standby.
The snowstorm added many challenges to the rescue.
"If you could have a million things against you all at one time, we got it," said Captain David Harriott, of the Stamford Fire Department.
"We had visibility issues, we had driving issues just getting here then when we got here we're working with cold water with ice, long distances off the shore," said Roach.
Police did charge the driver of the truck with reckless operation of a vehicle.
