Police in New Zealand used a stone to smash the window of a car that tumbled into the water at an Auckland wharf Tuesday, dragging the trapped motorist out of the sinking vehicle and lifting her to safety.
Police later estimated the 63-year-old, whose name wasn’t released, was within a minute or so of drowning, they told the New Zealand Herald.
The horrified driver was was trapped inside of a BMW after the car jumped the parking lot wall and landed in the Waitemata Harbour about 3 p.m. local time, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
joined by several bystanders who witnessed the horrifying plunge, Officers Paul Watts and Simon Russell sprang into action to save the woman's life, according to the North Shore Times.
Erwin Kampos, who had been fishing nearby, was trying to balance the car as the terrified woman tried to keep her head above water in the backseat, pressing her face against the rear window.
The cops dove into the drink and one of them tried, unsuccessfully, to break the window with his baton. Another bystander, local reporter Simon Maude, handed Watts a large rock, which the officer used to shatter the car’s glass.
 FAIRFAXNZThe car was completely submerged within a minute of the rescue, the officers said.
“At that time the car actually started to move very fast into the water. I was trying to hold the car, slowing it down from entering the water,” Russell told the New Zealand Herald.
The group then hoisted the horrified driver and carried her to safety.
The car was completely submerged within a minute of the rescue, the officers said.
Investigators are still trying to determine the circumstances of the accident, 9 News reported.
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