GREENWOOD — An elderly Bethel woman was plucked from her car Thursday morning as it sank completely into Round Pond.

Mildred Jackson, 84, of Intervale Road was pulled from her car by Bethel fire and rescue volunteer Andy Whitney, 21, who came upon the scene as he drove north on Route 26 just before 10 a.m. He used a pocket-knife, given to him by another man, to cut Jackson free of her seat belt, said Diane Gaudreau of Woodstock, who jumped into the pond to help him bring Jackson 40 feet back to shore. Also helping was another passer-by, Jeremy Morin, who is believed to live in the area.

“I just happened to see her waving her arms and hollering for help,” Gaudreau said during a telephone interview shortly after the accident.

Gaudreau said she was driving north on Route 26 when she noticed the partially submerged car and Jackson. She called 911 and kept reassuring Jackson help was on the way.

Whitney said Thursday night by phone that when he stopped at the scene and saw what was happening he radioed for help and waded into the pond to get to Jackson, whose car was in water 8 to 10 feet deep.

“She was sitting the driver’s seat and the hood was under water,” he said. I cut the seat belt and as the car was going under dragged her out through the window.”

He described Jackson as “calm.”

“I dove into the water to assist him and we pulled her to shore,” Gaudreau said. “She had humor all the way.”

Bethel Rescue workers and volunteers took Jackson from the scene in an ambulance and she appeared to be conscious and alert.

Gaudreau said Jackson told her she hadn’t slept well Wednesday night and was on her way to see a doctor when she believes she dozed off.  The car hit some rocks on the side of the road as it entered the pond and that woke her up, Gaudreau said Jackson told her.

“Mildred was very, very brave,” Gaudreau said after the rescue.  A few moments after they had Jackson on shore the car sank.

“It went completely out of sight,” Gaudreau said.

She credited the others who helped and called the rescue, “just a great community effort.”

“I was just at the right place at the right time,” she said. “It was a huge collaborative effort of many, many people. I was just honored to be able to assist her.”

Whitney, a self-employed landscaper, said it was the first time he had been involved in such a rescue and his training just took over when he saw what needed to be done.

Staff editor Mary Delamater contributed to this report.

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