A woman in Willimantic was pulled from her wrecked car Monday night by strangers who rushed to her aid.
According to Willimantic Fire Chief Marc Scrivener, the driver had mechanical problems and was trying to fix them in the Bridge Street Plaza parking lot when he accelerated to the point where he crashed through a fence and into the river .
“Pretty significant drop into the river,” said Scrivener, who estimated the car fell 15 to 20 feet into the water. “The car was quite full when we arrived.”
Before firefighters arrived at the scene, someone noticed the car in the river and ran to the restaurant, El Guanajuato Restaurante, across the parking lot to alert others.
“I didn’t have time to think about it,” said Manuel Gonzalez, owner of El Guanajuato restaurant.
Gonzalez and one of his customers, James Preston, immediately ran to help the driver.
“I saw her waving her hands at us and screaming. I asked her if she was OK. She said yes and I said, ‘Stay still, don’t move’. We’re coming to you,” he said. said Preston, who used to be a volunteer firefighter.
Looking for a way to get there, Preston noticed a tree trunk at the edge of the bridge.
“It had all the branches cut off and when I saw it, I thought of a fire pole as soon as I saw it. So I told Manny, ‘get down the tree,'” Preston said.
Gonzalez climbed down the tree and Preston followed. Eventually, the two were able to lift her up her sunroof and carry her to the rocks. They waited below until the firemen could arrive with a ladder.
Gonzalez and Preston said the woman was talking and walking fine, but was taken to the hospital by ambulance for evaluation.
“I think she’s extraordinarily lucky to be alive,” Scrivener said.
Firefighters remained on the scene for hours, working with a local towing company to retrieve the car from the water.
Scrivener praised Gonzalez and Preston for their selfless actions, saying they make him proud to be a member of the Willimantic community.
“Just do the right thing. Helping people is always the right thing,” Preston said.
Gonzalez agreed, “and I’ll do it again if I have to for someone.”
