Tragedy struck on February 16, when a car failed to make a turn and ended up crashing into a pond. Despite his best efforts a husband fails to save his wife from the submerged vehicle, resulting in her death. Now family members are demanding changes be made, so that there are no more car crashes into the pond.
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Husband Fails To Save Wife After Car Crashes Into A Pond
PEOPLE Magazine shares the tragic story of Susan Hilmes' death. According to a statement released by the
Clinton County Sheriff's Office, the "vehicle failed to make a curve in the road," which resulted in it crashing into the pond. The passenger, Steven Hilmes and Susan's husband, was able to free himself from the vehicle. However, his wife and the driver of the vehicle was stuck.The statement also shares that the vehicle was "upside down, with only the rear tires above water." Mr. Hilmes desperately tried to save his wife. According to authorities, he made three attempts to remove her from the vehicle. Plunging himself into the dark waters, trying to free her from her seatbelt. However, despite his best efforts, this husband failed to save his wife. He eventually sought help from a nearby home, and eventually firefighters were dispatched to the scene.
After some time, firefighters successfully extracted her from the vehicle and transported her to St. Joseph's Hospital. Similarly, Mr. Hilmes also went to the hospital for his injuries to be evaluated. Unfortunately, at the hospital Susan Hilmes was officially pronounced dead.
Attempting To Prevent This From Happening Again
Even though they are in the thick of healing, Susan's loved ones are still thinking of others. PEOPLE shared that Susan's family expressed their concern about the lack of guard rail at the site of the accident. They argued that there should be "a barrier placed between the water and the roadway." Apparently, they are not the only ones who believe so.
Clinton County Sheriff's Office acting chief deputy, Dennis Perez, agrees with them. He shared the following statement. "When you get into freezing cold water and overturn, it's, you know, you wear your seat belts to be safe, but they're hard to get out of when you're upside down in the water. The guard rail could have prevented that," said Perez
Susan's obituary shares that her funeral is expected to take place on Saturday, February 22, in St. Louis.
