INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Several police officers with the Indianapolis and Lawrence police departments were hailed Tuesday as heroes after they saved two young siblings from an icy pond in Lawrence.

Police say both children have fully recovered, but their father, Daschon Sims, 28, died at a hospital.

Police body cameras caught it all, including the audio from officers and a child being rescued.

“There’s a car in the water. That’s probably what’s going on.”

“Grab the rope its right next to you. Get it! Reach it, buddy. Reach. Grab on tight. Pull. We got you! We got you! Keep your head up. Is that another kid right there? Yeah, that’s my little sister.”

The heart-racing scene played out just before midnight Jan. 12 when the car went into the retention pond on Pendleton Way.

Eight officers in all carried out the daring rescue, using rope bags to pull a father and the two children to the shore. All of them were rushed into the hands of paramedics.

One of the children, a little girl, was in desperate need and received CPR.

Officer Erica Eder of Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department said Tuesday, “As soon as we took the little girl to the ambulance is when I realized the magnitude of what we just did. I think after we did our part, we were like, ‘Oh wow, we could’ve just saved a life.’”

The officers gathered to receive medals of valor for their heroic efforts.

The officers also got to meet the two children they rescued, after they recovered, another moment they’ll never forget. Eder said, “Because I remember what she looked like when I pulled her out of the water. I remember when she was lifeless. So looking at her with life in her eyes and her getting to hug me,
that’s amazing. We never see anything like that. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing.”

IMPD Chief Chris Bailey said Tuesday that the officers didn’t hesitate to help. “This was an extremely dangerous situation. The darkness and freezing conditions in the murky water made for an almost impossible situation. The bravery and teamwork shown by the Lawrence police department and IMPD made the impossible possible.”

Bailey says the officers acted without hesitation, in freezing conditions and at great personal risk, saying their courage deserves to be recognized and honored.

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A crash involving a state trooper shut down a portion of I-465 on the east side of Indianapolis on Tuesday morning.

The far left lane of southbound I-465 is closed between the I-70 interchange and East 16th Street, according to the Indiana Department of Transportation.

The crash happened around 9:55 a.m. and involved three vehicles, including the state trooper’s patrol vehicle.

The state trooper was not hurt, and one person suffered “very minor injury,” Indiana State Police confirmed to News 8.

No other injuries were reported.

It’s not clear what led to the crash. Indiana State Police reported icy conditions on ramps and roadways around the Indianapolis metro throughout the morning.

HAGERSTOWN, Ind. (WISH) — Two people died Monday night in the crash of a semitractor-trailer and a passenger vehicle in northwestern Wayne County, the sheriff told News 8.

Sheriff Randy Retter said the crash happened on State Road 1 near Charles Road. That’s about 4 miles west of the town of Economy and 4.5 miles north of the town of Hagerstown.

Wayne County was under a travel watch on Monday night, although it was not immediately known if wintry conditions on the road played any role in the crash. The sheriff did not have any other information that could immediately be shared at 10:15 p.m. Monday.

Indiana Department of Transportation issued an alert to travelers just before 8:45 p.m. Monday that State Road 1 was closed in both directions for a crash between Pierce Road and Charles Road. That closing remained in place as of 10:30 p.m. Monday.