GEIST RESERVOIR, Ind. (WOWO): Last month, the Indianapolis Fire Department and Indiana State Police Underwater Search and Rescue held a safety exercise where an ABC News Correspondent purposely drove a car out onto a frozen Geist Reservoir. The correspondent, Matt Gutman, drove the car out onto and through the ice so he could help demonstrate the proper way to escape a car that’s crashed into water.
Indianapolis Fire Department personnel provided doctors, ambulances and divers for the event. Also standing by watching was world renowned cold water survival expert, Ph.D. Gordon Giesbrecht of Manitoba, Canada. The segment filmed at Geist was part of the ABC Good Morning America “Winter Survival Series.”
Indiana State Police Master Diver Robert May used the opportunity to remind the public that “if you find yourself in a vehicle that crashes into water, whether ice or open water, the way to survive is the same. Open a window and get everyone in your car out of their seatbelt. If there are children in the car, get them out first, starting with the oldest; climb out of the open window onto the top of your car. Only call 9-1-1 after everyone is out on the top of your car.”
May said “Never call from inside the car, as the time you spend talking to 9-1-1 may be the time you need to escape and survive.”