Family Rescued From Submerged Car by Couple Fishing Nearby

A husband and wife interrupted their day of fishing on a Hancock County pond to pull a woman and her children from a car after it plunged into the water.

The Portland Press Herald reports that Leonard and Rosemary Wallace were fishing on Fox Pond Saturday afternoon when a noise made the man turn his head. What he saw was a car's tire and wheel speed by, missing him by no more than a foot. The car flew into the water, flipping onto its roof and submerging before bobbing back up to the surface.

Leonard dropped his pole and ran to help, spotting an infant floating in the backseat. He pulled the baby out of the car and took him to shore, then returned to the car where the mother urged him to save her children. He grabbed the front of the 3-year-old's clothing and then grabbed the mother's collar with his other hand and pulled them both out of the water. When asked how he could manage the rescue, Leonard told the PPH, 'It's called fear and adrenaline!'

The couple took the family to their car, where they wrapped them in blankets. The woman's car sank in the 48 degree water. Rosemary, holding the 2-month-old boy, tried to flag down passing motorists, but cars just drove by. Cellphone reception there is nearly  non-existent, but she kept dialing 9-1-1 until a police dispatcher managed to call her back.

Police say the car went off the road after failing to negotiate a curve. Had the Wallace's not been fishing there that day, it could have been a tragic end to the story because police say the car landed in the pond in such a way that it wouldn't have been visible to passersby. The names of the woman and her children have not been released but police say she may face charges in connection with the accident.