By Greg Welter
The Chico Enterprise-Record (California)

WILLOWS, Calif. — A Fairfield woman was able to get her 1-year-old baby out of her vehicle moments before it sank into a canal near the intersection county roads 45 and 48 Thursday morning.

The mother, Dani Jiminez Cruz, 22, was trapped inside her 2006 Ford, but was pulled out by passing motorists. She was taken to Enloe Medical Center in Chico for treatment of minor injuries. Her baby girl, Samantha Pareja, wasn't injured.

The California Highway Patrol said both victims were properly restrained.

Investigators said Cruz was driving south on 45 just west of Interstate 5 about 9:45 a.m. when she attempted to place her wallet in a diaper bag and drifted off the right shoulder of the road.

She turned her vehicle hard to the left and hit the brakes, causing it to spin across the roadway and slide into a full irrigation canal.

The car landed upright in the water, but almost immediately began to sink. Shortly after both victims were out of the car, it became completely submerged.

Divers from the Glenn-Codora Volunteer Fire Department checked the vehicle to make sure no one was inside, and helped tow truck drivers prepare it for retrieval.

The crash remains under investigation.

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