Student rescues woman whose car crashed into an icy Delft canal
A student became a Delft family’s hero on Thursday. A woman’s car slipped on the icy road in the city center and crashed upside-down into the canal. The 23-year-old man saw it happen and immediately jumped into the freezing water to save her, the police said on Instagram.
According to the police, the woman lost control of her vehicle when it skidded on the icy road. The car ended up upside-down in the canal. The woman was on her way to pick up her three children at school when the accident happened.
The student, who asked to remain nameless, told Omroep West that he saw the accident happen through the window of his first-floor dorm room. “I looked out the window and saw in front of me a car skidding away on the other side of the canal and flying into the canal,” he said. “As the car flew in, it flipped over. I saw it happen and sprinted outside, calling everyone from the house to come along.”
Outside, someone from the other side of the canal said there was a person still in the car. The student didn’t hesitate. He took off his shirt and jumped into the freezing water. “It was very cold,” he told the broadcaster.
“Then I swam to the car. I saw someone sitting in the car, a woman. She hit her hands on the window in a blind panic. I saw that it was serious. She couldn’t figure it out on her own.”
The young man had a bit of trouble getting the woman out. His roommates threw a stone into the water, but it wasn’t enough to break a window. Someone also found a hatchet, but it was too big to safely throw. Finally, someone threw a hammer in, and he managed to break a window. He pulled the woman out and got her safely to the side.
After a hot shower, the student spoke to the woman he rescued. “She was on her way to pick up her three children from the school around the corner. She was very shocked,” he told Omroep West.
“She gave me hugs, and we had tea together inside. Her husband also came by and gave me a hug.”
The police called the student a hero. Delft Mayor Marja van Bijsterveldt visited him to express her gratitude. “She came by with cake, so we had cake together,” the student said.
