Bodycam video captured a police officer rescuing a woman from her car after it became disabled and partially submerged under a flooded viaduct in North Chicago.
North Chicago Police Officer Gary Grayer was on shift on July 23 and found an occupied vehicle under a flooded overpass at 24th Street and Bobby Thompson Highway in North Chicago near Great Lakes Naval Base.
There had been heavy rains that week which caused flooding on the evening of July 23.
Grayer waded through waist-high water to get to the occupied vehicle, which had its front end completely submerged in water.
The rescue was captured on Grayer’s department-issued bodycam.
A 73-year-old woman was in the driver’s seat with water up to her upper body.
Grayer communicated information to dispatchers and calmed the woman, bodycam footage showed.
He removed her from the vehicle and guided her to safety through the water, which had a steady current.
“I transported [the passenger] back to the police department and gave her blankets to stay warm,” Grayer said.
The woman was shaken up but did not need to be transported to the hospital, city officials said.
Family members picked the woman up from the North Chicago Police Department.
The car was later retrieved by a tow truck.
“Officer Grayer is a true hero who is always willing to help our citizens with a heartwarming smile,” North Chicago Police Chief Lazaro Perez said.