16-year-old rushes into frigid pond to help save driver after crash. ‘He needs help’

Ethan Cakmak had just gotten home from school when he heard his father yell for help.

An SUV had just driven into the lake outside their Chandler, Arizona, apartment complex, the 16-year-old told KSAZ.

“At that point, I was like, ‘He needs help; he needs help,’” Cakmak told KNXV. He tore off his shirt and jumped into the frigid water.

The teen peered through a SUV window and could see the driver was breathing but not responding to his pounding on the glass, Cakmak told KSAZ.

He tried to break a window but couldn’t before police and fire personnel, summoned by his father’s 911 call, arrived to rescue the man, KNXV reported.

The crash took place around 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 7, Chandler police said in a statement to McClatchy News.

Two police officers suffered cuts and bruises while pulling the driver from the car, police said. A tow truck later removed the vehicle from the pond. No one else was in the SUV when it crashed.

The man was taken to a hospital, where he is in intensive care, police said. The crash may have been the result of a medical emergency, but the cause is still under investigation.

Police praised Cakmak for his prompt actions.

“I think that’s awesome. It goes to show that we’re out here looking out for each other,” Sgt. Ricky Gonzales told KSAZ.

“People need help sometimes and you should be, as a community, there for each other... and it’s really important to me. It’s one of my values,” Cakmak told KNXV.

Chandler is about 25 miles southeast of Phoenix.

This story was originally published February 8, 2024 at 2:00 PM with the headline "16-year-old rushes into frigid pond to help save driver after crash. ‘He needs help’."