Ohio Police Save Woman as Her Minivan Sinks in Frigid Mahoning River

Four Ohio police officers teamed up to save a female motorist who had crashed into the Mahoning River late on November 22, bodycam footage shared on Monday by the City of Alliance Police Department shows.

This video, taken from the bodycam of one of the responding officers, shows the minivan half submerged in the Mahoning, which runs to the north of Alliance. The woman’s cries can be heard as officers pass down a tomahawk to one policeman who is already in the water. The officer himself is in distress, telling his colleague “I can’t breath” due to the cold water. On Sunday evening, temperatures in the area dipped to near freezing.

The officer is still able to break the rear window of the van, pull the woman out, and pass her along to another policeman. In less than a minute, the van has slipped further into the river. On Facebook, the City of Alliance Police Department identified the four policemen as “Officers Tussey, Tallman, Amabeli and McCord.” Credit: City of Alliance Police Department via Storyful