a winter storm turns a Vermont Road into an icy death trap two teenage boys try to make their way home the road is slick the tire slide seconds later disaster as the car fills with freezing water the boys realize they are trapped now Rescuers must fight bitter cold and impossible odds to attempt a rescue I'd been on other card at calls that don't have good outcomes to be honest with you I didn't have a whole lot of Hope with each passing second emergency Personnel are in a life and death struggle to save victims that are submerged [Music] it was November 22nd 1999 a few days before Thanksgiving an early snowstorm blanketed new fan Vermont the National Weather Service had issued a travel advisory for the area it warned of a Tre ous driving condition known as black ice a thin layer of Frozen water that takes on the color of the underlying surface what looks like a normal roadway is actually a dangerous sheet of ice many Travelers had only one thought on their mind that evening [Applause] [Music] get [Music] home even as the snow sto falling it would be hours before many of the two-lane Country Roads would be cleared and salted around Newan a small town where everyone knew everyone George place and his classmate Caleb reckard left basketball practice at the high school around 700 p.m. Caleb was a starter on the varsity team and ranked eighth in his class he and George had been friends for 2 [Music] years the weather had turned cold and the boys weren't wearing coats they only lived 7 m away [Music] Caleb's mother worried as she waited for him to arrive home the roads were often unpredictable this time of year especially for an inexperienced driver the weather was was kind of nasty Caleb he had not driven in a lot us now and I was concerned that why they even had practice because the roads were kind of slippery Caleb took Route 30 and then turned onto the River Road to take George home it was a windy on Lane dirt road the conditions on the River Road were much worse than Route 30 and there were a series of sharp d ous curves all right yeah you can't see any all right all right yeah calm down Caleb quickly discovered that the car was not responding like it normally be it the River Road was much more difficult to navigate than he had imagined when he pressed on the brakes the car hit a patch of black ice and kept going straight the car would not stop the terrified boys BRAC themselves as they hit a snowback the car's Windows shattered and the roof flattened they landed upside down on the river's bottom water poured [Music] in the Panic boys were trapped submerged in near freezing water within seconds their arms and hands went numb from the cold they couldn't even unlatch their seat belts to make matters worse the car continued to shift in the river's current within a minute the boy's core body temperature began to drop blood pressure and pulse decreased sharply leaving them confused and disorder [Music] oriented finally George managed to unlatch his seat belt Caleb was still trapped they had been under freezing water holding their breath for almost 2 minutes George knew that if he didn't get air into his lungs in a matter of seconds he would pass out he did the only thing he could he clawed his way out of the [Music] car the water's near freezing temperature robbed his body of heat 30 times faster than cold air he swam ashore ignoring the excruciating pain shooting through his legs and arms hypothermic shock was setting in his reflexes were [Music] failing if he did not get immediate help within 15 to 45 minutes George would be dead [Music] still he found the strength to call for his friend but Caleb was still trapped in the car as the car sank deeper into the river George knew he had to do something Heen him Caleb if he went back into the river he would certainly die he had to get help for Caleb and himself if they were to survive he [Music] live the embankment was steep Broken Glass and Metal shards from the car's descent cut his hands and [Music] knees confused and frightened he stopped to see if his friend had gotten free there was no sign of Caleb George's body temperature continued to drop exposed to the elements wearing the soaked t-shirt and shorts from basketball practice he was shaking [Music] uncontrollably the pain in his arms and legs was unrelenting but he knew he had to go on inside the car Caleb had stopped struggling he had been underwater for nearly 4 [Music] minutes when George reached the top of the embankment he knew there would be little chance anyone would drive down the River Road in time to help Caleb he made his way to Route 30 his limbs were so cold he could barely [Music] move time was running out [Music] George finally reached Route 30 but there were no cars on the road then in the distance headlights appeared hey he used every ounce of energy he had left to wave them down screaming crying to help his friend the first car didn't stop George stood in the middle of the road and wave frantically the second car stopped Hillary Chamberlain saw that the boy was in serious trouble he was soaking wet and shivering so violently he could barely [Music] speak the river all he could say was car in River car in River what happened what happened I don't know we over and you just got to go he's he's in the river Rodney Chase and Jerry paridis were in the first [Music] car they turned around and headed back to the boy Rodney couldn't understand what George was trying to [Music] say he kept saying there car in the river but the river is 3 400 y from Route 30 finally I I kind of yelled at him and I said you know you got to tell me what where the river is what the problem is and then he said well that we had to go down the side road George finally told them that he had managed to escape come on but Caleb was still in the car submerged under the water [Applause] Hillary helped George into her car it was clear he was freezing she knew they had to get help Jerry and Rodney started down the dirt road they look for any signs of an accident [Music] as they came to a sharp Bend in the road they saw tire tracks that led down the embankment to the river Rodney pulled a flashlight from the car Jerry scanned the river below we saw a car in the water upside down tires sticking out it was pretty dark you couldn't see much other than what your head what your flashlight hit car itself wasn't that far offshore maybe four or 5 foot deep right off the edge I mean he didn't have to go out far before it was you know up to your chest Rodney and Jerry climbed down the embankment if there was a passenger in that car they had to get him out Debbie record was getting more anxious [Music] the school was only 7 miles away and Caleb was overdue hello Kate have you seen Caleb I knew he had gone to practice I knew what time practice I gotten now and he hadn't gotten home as quickly as I thought he should [Music] have as Hillary raced to the Sheriff's Office are George slipped into shock his body temperature continued to [Music] fall Caleb had been submerged nearly 15 minutes his body was cold he was unconscious or Worse watch J I was pretty scared cuz I I knew it was a steep bank and I wasn't sure what we'd see once we got to the edge of the bank wouldn't sure I wanted to see what we were going to see but I knew it wasn't going to be [Music] good there the bank was really Steep and uh it was it was basically clear of like trees and stuff like that but it was pretty rough and it was like I said real steep so we pretty much had to go down however we could get down there it it was rough going [Music] so I get down there I'm like are we going to risk Our Lives to go in this ice cold water and there's not anybody in the car was he actually by himself or do we take a chance and there might be somebody in there it was a critical decision they had to make in an instant if Caleb had any chance at life the two men had to act now it was November 22nd in new Fain Vermont Caleb reckard and his friend George Place had just left basketball practice and taken a back road home on an icy Road Caleb lost control of the car it tumbled over a 100t embankment and landed upside down in the icy [Music] River George play managed to make it out of the submerged car he struggled up the embankment and went to get help he flagged down Rodney Chase and Jerry Paradis the two men now had to decide whether to plunge into the icy water themselves wasn't so much scared about him going in the water I was more scared whether or not he was going to find somebody in the car or not I really didn't want him to find anybody in the car I was hoping it was empty Rodney plunged into the freezing water I get into trouble the worst part was actually getting in the water that's why I think if I'd been alone I might not have done it the water temperature was so cold it took his breath away Rodney began to wonder if he had made a mistake when I first got in the water I uh it was very shocking um it had been quite cold um that day and and the water was real cold I had second thoughts about going in the water because I thought if I got In Too Deep that I was going to become a victim instead of a rescuer Hillary Chamberlain turned up the heat as far as it would go she was concerned that George would succumb to hypothermia we're going to the sh he was shaking uncontrollably fine okay the roads were slick but she drove as fast as she could Rodney finally reached the car and tried to open the door underwater keep ey me it wouldn't open the door was locked the door won't open we were communicating back and forth you know I was asking him you know what do you got I mean is it is can you find anything is there anybody there Rodney reached through a broken window and unlocked the door but now it was stuck on the River Bottom using all his strength Rodney pulled it free he reached into the car and felt a cold human hand someone was trapped inside Rodney tried pulling but the body wouldn't budge he said I think I've got something and I'm I'm up on the bank I'm like no way no you don't have nothing please tell me you're wrong when I did find somebody I believe he was wedged between the seat and the [Music] door no matter how hard he pulled he couldn't get the body free of the car the door open at that point I moved a little closer to where they were at get the door open and I looked down with the flashlight and sure enough I saw a belt and jeans and I knew he had somebody somebody's in here they [Music] stuck I actually thought I was going to have to stick my head under the water to try to find somebody which I didn't want to do because I was afraid I'd get trapped in the car Hillary finally made it to the Sheriff's Department with George Place who was suffering from [Music] hypothermia I'm going to be right back can you help me please help me there there was an accident and there was Hillary told the dispatcher about the ACD ENT she quickly called new Brook Fire and Rescue need fire and rescue overturn vehicle possible victim inside the firefighters manned their emergency [Music] vehicles within 2 minutes they were on their way to the scene [Music] [Applause] [Applause] [Music] the dispatcher helped Hillary bring George into the Sheriff's Office the teenager was pale and Delirious in the river Rodney continued to try and pull Caleb's body from the submerged car but the seat belt was restraining him I was I was pretty shocked I was at that point I got really scared I wasn't sure what we were going to do at that point I can't get him out got seat belt on he called to Jerry telling him to bring his pocket [Music] knife Jerry took the knife and started cutting the seat belt I think the adrenaline had taken over and I wasn't I wasn't afraid um for myself or or because there was a dead person in this car George could hardly move go get him some blankets it's so [Music] cold you're okay Hillary rushed to cover him with blankets I didn't know what to do I'm get him the dispatcher called for an ambulance let me Rescue Unit immediately the ER staff at Brattleboro Memorial Hospital had heard over their police scanner that a car was upside down in the west river with a body trapped [Music] inside they immediately sent the hospital's Rescue Squad to pick up George at the Sheriff's Office Diane Vergara an ER nurse alerted the [Music] staff the fact that it was a snowy or wintry night we were just more attentive knowing that it was a car into the water so we just were waiting Jerry used his pocket knife to cut through Caleb's seat belt they pulled the boy from the [Music] car it's hard to even move let alone you know try to carry a person out so I mean I'd only been in the water just a couple of minutes and I had a hard time getting back up on the Rock together They Carried him to the river bank and I would have had a hard time getting him back up on shore by myself but my cousin kind of grabbed my hand and we he pulled me and I pulled this body out of the car oh Caleb was not breathing he appeared dead my first impression that we just pulled a dead guy out of the water I mean he was blue cold lifeless kind of stiff I mean it was it wasn't [Music] pretty high school student Caleb record lost control of his car on an icy Vermont Road it plunged over an embankment and into a freezing River George Place sitting in the passenger seat managed to get free he climbed up the Steep embankment in a desperate attempt to get help for his friend on the road George flagged down Rodney Chase and Jerry paradus the two men pulled Caleb from the car but the boy wasn't breathing couldn't really see him good which is is probably a good thing um because I just remembered the person was really cold and pale [Music] Jerry knew CPR and immediately began chest compressions 1 2 3 he just started uh doing chest compressions and I figured well if he's going to do chest compressions somebody's going to do rescue breathing so I used a CPR kit and uh started doing rescue breathing Caleb barely responded when I was doing the rest breathing I could hear uh rattling sound as I was giv him breaths and the breath that was coming back out I I'll never forget there was a really bad smell to it I heard later that the rattling sound was probably acorns that had gotten into his lungs from the water despite Caleb's limited response the two men continued administering CPR when it comes to doing the CPR on the guy too I mean there's always a chance especially with the water that cold something could happen you know at the Sheriff's Office George place was loaded into an [Music] ambulance his body temperature had plunged to 94.5 I just wanted to be warm again and I couldn't and and I didn't know what was going to happen I didn't know if I didn't know anything at that point Debbie record was frantic she couldn't find her son there I was just trying to piece it all together I was trying to you know Caleb was a good driver um so I was just trying to think what could have happened you know did he hit a tree the roads were bad have you seen him okay thank you just a lot of things are going through my mind about 15 minutes after Jerry and Rodney pulled Caleb out of the water the Newbrook Rescue Squad arrived at the [Music] scene I was beginning to wonder cuz I wasn't sure how long we'd been down there and I wasn't sure how far away help was cuz I'm not really from that particular area [Music] firefighter Mike Fontaine took over for Jerry he continued chest compressions on [Music] Caleb I was pretty scared I didn't know what we were going to do at that point I mean it I figured I'd seen my first dead person I don't like funerals and I don't usually go to a lot of funerals but he looked like any dead person I've ever seen fire and rescue trucks arrived I was doing the CPR because that's what I was training to do I just thought that I was you know doing CPR going through the motions on a dead [Music] person the rescue workers brought a backboard and an oxygen tank from the truck [Music] in order to evacuate Caleb they would have to run ropes down the dangerous icy slope it's a steep bank and I mean we had to put several ropes down over and several people down over the bank and have like a chain line to bring them up over it was very tough [Music] that's way everybody came down but it was incredible that nobody got injured going down over this bank where it was CU it was just straight [Music] down the rescue workers came to the aid of Fontaine and Rodney thek got on the Medics continued CPR on Caleb I looked at the car and I recognized it and I said to one of the other guys who was there is that Caleb's car says yeah it is they sent a backboard and more Personnel down the [Music] embankment Caleb's neck was secured with a c collar mean I would have never her gas if somebody said that was you know didn't tell me that was Caleb I wouldn't have guessed it it's how odd it [Music] is3 St off for a minute strap okay guys right on my count guys they quickly loaded Caleb on the backboard secured him and wrapped him in thermal blankets not till after I was standing back on the Rocks there that I realized who was I was actually doing CPR on Rescue workers tied themselves to ropes and help move the [Music] backboard slowly but surely Fontaine and other Rescuers pulled themselves and Caleb up the treacherous embankment to be honest with you I didn't have a whole lot of hope uh but it was one of my first experiences where a a young cardiac victim and I had heard of the uh submerging in cold water effects how it does slow the metabolism down and how people do have you know hope when they've been chilled you know rapidly so the guys that were going up one hand on the backboard one hand on the Rope to pull himself up [Music] through the rescuers finally reached the top of the embankment where Caleb was loaded into an ambulance paramedic Elena Mayo assessed his condition the questions that I asked the things that I want to know how long was he unconscious has he woken up at all did he ever have a pulse did he ever uh move was there any response to anything they've done so far and the answers were all negative he didn't have any movement he didn't have any pulse he didn't have any respirations there was no reaction to anything they've done paramedics did everything they could to revive Caleb they intubated him so they could administer oxygen directly to his lungs knowing how long he was underwater and knowing the physiology behind it you only have four to 6 minutes eight maybe if you're lucky he was under that 20 minutes 30 minutes then he had to get brought out then he had to be brought up to the road then he had to be put in the ambulance that's a lot of time that's a lot of time and I didn't have a whole lot of faith that he was going to be able to even if he did survive that he was going to be able to come back well Caleb's body temperature was only 82.5 they had to somehow raise it they continued to hyperventilate him and gave him a shot of epinephrine Caleb still had no [Music] pulse on an icy November night 16-year-old Caleb reckard lost control of his car and tumbled down a 100t embankment it landed upside down in the river two men pulled Caleb from the wreck now rescue workers were taking the boy to Brattleboro [Music] hospital no Vital Signs nothing the the defib tells you whether or not it's a there's a shock Rhythm if it says no shock there's nothing there and there was nothing there so I just kept calling his name and telling them come on come back to us now after several minutes of CPR they had a slight heart rhythm clear everybody clear now the defat says shock indicated who which is really cool and uh and then the machine starts to to whistle and hum a higher and higher pitch as it's building up a charge and then it says push to shock you reach over push the button and then it gives the jolt and then kale chart started again and that was he has a pulse the paramedic had to tell us all right now calm down um we're not done yet and uh we knew you know we'd made progress but that Caleb still wasn't clear [Music] all right George Place arrived at the hospital paramedics put me in a like a big Silver Lining it's like a some kind of solar blank I guess it reflects the heat off here like so it keeps the heat in and they wrap me in that and I I immediately like I was in there a couple of minutes I started getting warmer really fast the hyper hypo hm of blanket had caused his temperature to rise from 95.4 to 98.1 the doctor checked for internal injuries broken bones and spinal cord injuries other than a slight cut on his knee George was not [Music] harmed then Caleb arrived at the hospital arriving at the hospital we just all jumped out of the rig got the stretcher out as quickly as possible at that point they had their team ready to take over he's been in the water for 20 minutes the ambulance Drive been 20 [Music] minutes he was totally unresponsive what we want to do is we want to get them warm we want to get a core temperature we want to get them warm Caleb's pupils were dilated his left arm was blue and blotchy he still had no blood pressure his temperature was 92 they needed to raise it he was cyanotic which is uh what happens when you're submerged in cold water a police officer arrived and ask George about the accident yeah they're working on him right now okay George tried to fill in the details but he heard the commotion in the adjacent room and couldn't get his mind off of Caleb I'm laying in this bed and Caleb's in the next room and for all I know he's dying there and I I had no idea and I felt helpless I couldn't do anything s why don't you call Steve debie record Caleb's mom still wondered where her son [Music] was Debbie asked her daughter Satie to call some of Caleb's friends to see if he had dropped by basketball practice yet and [Music] uh-huh she'd no sooner said this when a car pulled up in front of the house [Music] it was firefighter Wayne W not Wayne told me that there had been an accident and we needed to go to Brader hospital he said grab your things and I said well the girls can stay here and he said oh no no no you bring the girls with you come on and he said and I'll drive your car and I said no I can drive myself and he said oh no you can't he wouldn't even really tell me anything I mean he didn't say Caleb had drowned all right let's get his nasle tube in doctors inserted a tube into Caleb's nose okay let's get on board he had a lot of water in his lungs the tube allowed the respiratory therapist to suck water from his lungs they pumped out over 600 cc's nearly half a liter of river waterer was our 6 they told me that he had water in his lungs his uh temperature is real low and he barely had a pulse and he he wasn't doing good Caleb was given two amps of sodium bicarbonate to lower his acidity level dopamine was administered to raise his blood pressure they finally got a slight reading Caleb's heart and breathing were stabilizing but they would need more tests to determine damage to other organs they had done all they could at this small County Hospital even though he thought Caleb's condition was Bleak the doctor knew he would need more advanced facilities if he had any chance of a recovery he called Dartmouth Medical Center once Caleb was fully stabilized they would transfer him to the University's trauma Department I was thinking the worst I was thinking that he was dead and laying in the Next Room to me Debbie and her husband Greg saw some of the paramedics who had been on the scene they told her about how the car had flipped off the road and into the river I didn't really know at that point but then people started coming to the hospital and coming in a room and then and then we then I found out that he had drowned they tried to encourage her saying he didn't appear to have any external injuries but sadly they weren't successful at resuscitating [Music] him Caleb was now breathing with the help of life support tragically his brain function was gone the record's family doctor arrived he had known Caleb since he was [Music] born got tutorial signs the two doctors realized they would have to share the terrible news about Caleb's condition with the boy's family Caleb was probably not going to make it [Music] in new fame Vermont Caleb recard and his friend George Place slid off an icy Road and down an embankment they landed upside down in the river [Music] George had gotten free but Caleb was submerged for nearly 20 minutes now the attending Emergency Physician and the records family doctor had to tell them the terrible news Caleb was brain dead need they needed to consider turning off life support and donating his organs go to transfer the doctor that was on call that night came in and just said things are not good um but I'll keep you up to date I think this would be a good time they told Debbie and Greg that they could see their son to come back and say what you [Music] need he said there was uh his pupils were dilated they were getting no response uh definitely there was brain damage and that um we should go in and say our [Music] goodbyes the records couldn't believe what had happened to their son Debbie tried to see if Caleb was still there she spoke loudly to see if he could hear her did feel like it was the last time um the doctor came in two or three times and just it wasn't good you know he kept saying he's brain dead he's brain dead CB Caleb squeezed Debbie's hand oh he just squeezed my hand every time she spoke loudly to him he responded by squeezing her hand I said he squeeze my hand and I said watch this and if I spoke he would squeeze and that's when I said we can't give up now the University Medical Center in Hanover New Hampshire could offer the kind of Advanced life-saving Equipment he would need it gave me a feeling of hope I just said he can't be brain dead if he can squeeze on command by me Caleb arrived at Dartmouth Medical Center he survived the trip but he was still in critical condition temperature 10 points to 90 I gave him a shot of up an eon about 40 minutes ago any transfer is risky especially with the condition that he was in anything can change we had no idea how long he was in the water so you know there's there's so many unpredictables anybody that's unresponsive um and being in the situation that Caleb in you know I wouldn't I would never say that they're stable enough to transfer but you you never know what's going to happen along Route anything can happen at any given time Debbie and Greg arrived at Dartmouth around 12:30 a.m. Caleb was stabilized and they could see him I don't know what I was thinking at that point I wasn't um I was thinking that it was going to be bad that whole night of course you can imagine there wasn't a lot of sleeping went on but it was just pretty much um you know little crying a lot of just holding each other and just trying to get through that night and see what the morning brought Dr Levan apprised the records of Caleb's condition during recovery from that kind of injury the the brain swells and because the brain is in an enclosed rigid space our skull there's not much room for swelling and the pressure itself then makes the brain start to crowd in on itself and could be damaging to the brain all through the night the doctor and his staff continued to monitor Caleb when morning came Caleb was still alive live slowly he began to improve 2 days after the accident The Specialist believed Caleb could breathe on his own he turned off the [Music] ventilator Caleb began to [Music] breathe it was pretty amazing um kind of gave every gave me goosebumps good job Cale then just a few days after the accident Caleb woke up he even started walking I just tell people Point Blank I witnessed a miracle I am firsthand saw it and and see it every day and that's the only explanation I've ever been given and it's the one that I believe in it was a miracle to think there he was only a few days ago and now he can walk and talk and I think I got deep down inside I I I'm a pusher and I wasn't going to give up on him at that point [Music] amen Caleb went into rehab and made remarkable Improvement in June he graduated from high school today Caleb is attending junior college and works part-time he has something to say to those who rescued him I just like to thank everyone but obviously I can't because so many people helped and I would just like to say thank you again for Caleb's dad there is still one person who deserves more credit as far as we're concerned he's a hero if George hadn't done what he done my son I my son would not have lived to us he's a hero for George Place life is its own reward life is really good I'm thankful that I'm here to live another day [Music] and thankful that kale was here to live another day and for the people of new fame Vermont life has never been more precious [Music]