A car crashed into a pond Sunday morning in Winchendon, Massachusetts.
The accident happened on Spring Street around 4 a.m.
Corey Wilson, a Winchendon business man who was plowing a nearby parking lot on Front Street, saw a car drive off the road and into Hunts Pond, and called 911 for help.
NBC Boston spoke to Wilson Sunday afternoon about his quick thinking that firefighters say was lifesaving.
“I was just in the right place at the right time,” Wilson said. “I saw the headlights go through the snow banks, I saw the car land in the water and just grabbed my phone.”
Wilson said the firefighters and police officers are the true heroes and were on scene within seconds of his call.
“They did a great job,” Wilson said. I’m glad they could get there as quick as they did and it’s great that everything turned out as good as it did. That’s what’s great about this town, everyone always tries to help each other.”
Local
In-depth news coverage of the Greater Boston Area.
The driver was able to pull himself from the car and onto its roof. The vehicle was in about eight to 10 feet of water, a little more than 10 feet from the shore.
As the car started quickly sinking, first responders jumped into action pulling the man to safety using a rope.
Multiple responding officials helped pull the man safely to shore.
The driver, whose identity hasn't been released, was not injured in the accident. Deputy Fire Chief Ricci Ruschioni said he is extremely lucky.
“Once he got wet, you’re talking less than 5 minutes until severe hypothermia would have set in and the outcome would have been a lot worse,” Deputy Chief Ruscioni said.
The Winchendon Fire Department says this was a great team effort. Those involved included the Winchendon Fire Lieutenant, a foreman for the Winchendon Department of Public Works, the Winchendon Police Sergeant and a deputy chief.
Fire department members from the dive team worked with Brooks Automative to recover the vehicle from the water.
All agencies cleared the scene by 6 a.m.
It's not immediately clear what caused the accident.
