Young girls crawl out of sinking car after dad crashes into lake, Michigan cops say
.jpg "Two girls crawled their way out of a sinking car after their father crashed into a Michigan lake, police said.")
Two young girls were found huddled together, cold and soaking wet, after a crash that took their father’s life, Michigan police told news outlets.
The girls, ages 8 and 10, were riding in a car with their dad when he crashed into Lake Macatawa, near Park Township, around 2 a.m. on Jan. 22, the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office told ABC 13.
As the vehicle sank into the frigid water, the girls crawled toward the back of the car, escaped through the trunk and made it to shore, the outlet reported.
The pair spent seven hours outside in the cold before they were rescued, Michigan Live reported.
Area residents often leave during the winter, and it’s likely the girls struggled to find anyone around to help, officials told the outlet.
A couple who live near the lake found them huddled together on their porch at 9 a.m. — barefoot and drenched — and brought them warm clothes and called 911, according to the outlet.
Investigators pulled the car out of the lake around 2 p.m., authorities told WXYZ. The father, a 52-year-old from Otsego, is dead.
The cause of the crash is under investigation, the outlet reported.
Park Township is about 180 miles northwest of Detroit.
This story was originally published January 23, 2023 at 1:27 PM with the headline "Young girls crawl out of sinking car after dad crashes into lake, Michigan cops say."