Two elite rowers and some good Samaritans rescued a man who drove into the Schuylkill
The former U.S. Women’s National Rowing Team members were along the Schuylkill for a documentary when the crash happened.
Two elite rowers and a couple of bystanders jumped into action — and into the water — Friday afternoon to rescue a man who drove his car into the Schuylkill.
Libby Peters, a 43-year-old former college rowing coach from Fairmount, was being interviewed for a documentary near St. Joe’s Boathouse when she heard a crash.
“I saw water up in the air, and I looked and saw a vehicle, pretty far off — it was strange how far into the river it had gotten," Peters said. She ran to the dock, and dived into the water.
As she swam, she saw the car beginning to sink, Peters said. She reached the car and shouted at the driver to wake him up. The doors were locked, she said, so she began pulling him through the window.
“The car was sinking, and he was going in and out of consciousness, so I just kept trying to keep him awake,” she said. “And I was pretty worried that once the car went down I wouldn’t be able to hold on to him anymore.”
As the car went underwater, Peters realized she was not alone: A man and a woman who had seen the crash had retrieved lifejackets from the boathouse and swam out to help.
“I just thank God that just as the car went under, they got there, the two other swimmers, and they had life jackets,” Peters said. “The three of us together were able to keep him afloat.”
Temple University’s head coach for women’s rowing, Rebecca Grzybowski, was also at the river for the documentary. When she saw her former teammate from the U.S. Women’s National Rowing Team dive into the river, she fired up one of the small motor boats used by rowing coaches and headed onto the water.
”It was almost like we both knew what we needed to do," Grzybowski said.
Grzybowski estimated that Peters and the good Samaritans swam about 200 meters (about 650 feet) in water that was about 10 feet deep.
When they got back to shore, emergency medical personnel took over.
“Our job was getting him out of there, responding quickly,” she said. “I’m really glad that we were in the right place in the right time.”
A police captain on scene said he wasn’t sure of the man’s status. A tow truck lifted the magenta Chevrolet sedan from the river Friday afternoon. Divers with the police department were seen coming to shore.
Peters said she’d been told the man was “OK,” and said she’s grateful for everyone who helped.
“I feel a ton of gratitude,” Peters said. “I think that there were a lot of factors and had one thing not been in place, it would have been a really different outcome.”