A crash near the Interstate 70/170 interchange in Berkeley, Missouri, turned into a remarkable rescue when police officers and state troopers literally lifted a vehicle off a trapped woman. Bodycam footage captured the frantic response as first responders worked together to save both a mother and her 12-year-old daughter.
According to Fox 2 Now, Berkeley Police Officer O’Shea Conway was patrolling near the interchange when someone along the shoulder flagged him down about a driver who had disappeared into the trees. Conway soon located the crashed vehicle, where he could hear the mother and daughter calling for help.
Conway broke out a rear window to free the 12-year-old girl, who suffered moderate injuries in the crash. Her mother was in a far more dangerous position, however, as she remained trapped beneath the vehicle with her head pinned underneath it.
Two additional Berkeley police officers and two Missouri State Highway Patrol troopers soon arrived, giving Conway the extra hands he desperately needed. With the woman still trapped and every second mattering, the group decided they were going to try something much simpler than specialized equipment: they were going to lift the car themselves.
Officers and Troopers Lift the Car Together
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Bodycam footage shows just how little time there was for hesitation once the first responders realized where the woman was trapped. After one officer pointed out that her head was underneath the vehicle, another called everyone over and suggested they attempt to lift it together.
The officers and troopers gathered around the vehicle, counted themselves down, and used their combined strength to raise it enough to reach the woman. They successfully pulled her free, turning what could have been an even more devastating crash into an extraordinary example of first responders improvising when there simply wasn’t time for another option.
The woman remained in critical condition following the crash, while her 12-year-old daughter was recovering from moderate injuries. Berkeley Acting Police Chief Major Steve Runge called the responders’ actions heroic, and in this particular case, that’s about as literal a description as you can get.
Comments and Reactions to the Berkeley Crash Rescue
Most commenters were impressed by just how quickly the officers and troopers responded when they realized what needed to be done, with one simply describing it as “Cops being heroes, a day in the life of.” A retired firefighter-paramedic offered a little more perspective, noting that first responders never really know what they’re walking into from one call to the next before congratulating both departments on a “job very well done.”
Others couldn’t get over how difficult the crashed vehicle was to spot among the trees, particularly given how differently the situation could have ended. One person said it was fortunate someone saw where the car went, pointing out that an unconscious victim without access to a phone could have remained hidden there with nobody knowing where to look.
There were some questions about the rescue itself, including one commenter who wondered whether the mother’s neck had been stabilized before she was moved. Still, the overwhelming response was gratitude toward the first responders, with another person thanking the state troopers for helping people while putting their own lives on the line.