Emergency crews battle the cold to recover a submerged car

LONG NECK, Del. – Sussex County emergency crews getting quite the unexpected call Monday morning as they made their way to the dock in Bay City to the scene of a submerged car.

Although they weren’t just handling a tricky situation, they we’re also battling the frigid cold.

One Bay City resident Colleen Hoitela tell us, “We’ve lived here seasonally for 15 years and we’ve never had anything like this. We’ve had a couple of overturned boats or something like that but never a vehicle.”

No one is used to seeing what everyone watched unfold on Monday morning. A car getting pulled from the water on a cold, windy and brutal January day.

“Because of the conditions that we face this morning with the negative temperatures, I believe it was like -5° with the windchill they didn’t want to put anybody in the water,” explains Deputy Fire Chief Travis Timmons, of Selbyville Fire Co.

Despite the bitter cold, two divers did go in. And this simple recovery did prove to be a challenge for fire and EMS crews in every way imaginable.

“You have to constantly rotate you have a 100% diver who’s doing this search. You got a 90% diver and then you have a back up diver, but on days like today we try and limit you know how long were in the water you know hypothermia that’s a big factor we’re facing today,” adds Timmons.

Crews said that their efforts to investigate this incident and to recover the car were a success and luckily neighbors were out there lending a hand.

“We offered the house for respite and bathrooms and coffee and whatever they needed. A few of them used it but that was the thing to do and you got to help these guys out they’re doing a job.”

Delaware State Police is continuing to investigate how the car ended up in the canal and tell us it is an active and ongoing investigation.