On May 22, at approximately 11:22 a.m., Killarney RCMP officers were on patrol northbound on Highway 18, approximately 10 kilometres north of Killarney, when officers observed a southbound car lose control and flip onto its roof in a water-filled ditch on the west shoulder.
Police immediately stopped; one officer called for an ambulance to be dispatched while the other officer ran to the ditch. The officer jumped into the cold water to get the driver out of the car. The car was filled with water. The passenger window was open, and the RCMP officer was able to extricate the driver and get him to safety. The officer then went back into the water to ensure nobody else was in the vehicle.
The 20-year-old male driver from Killarney suffered minor injuries and was transported to a local hospital where he was treated and released.
“The young driver was wearing his seatbelt at the time of the collision, and that certainly helped in saving his life,” said Sergeant Eric Descoteaux, the senior officer on scene from Turtle Mountain RCMP. “We are just so relieved that we happened to be in the right place to witness this collision and that we could respond immediately. Some days, being a first responder is heartbreaking, but because we were in the right place at the right time, and my partner jumped in that water so quickly, today was not one of those days.”
