Off-duty Mass. FFs rescue 3 from car overturned in water

Two off-duty firefighters and local fishermen rushed to rescue three people trapped in a submerged car in Gloucester Harbor

May 19, 2025 10:55 AM

By Susannah Sudborough
masslive.com

GLOUCESTER, Mass. — Off-duty firefighters and other bystanders rescued three people Sunday morning after a car crashed into the water at a Gloucester park.

Two off-duty firefighters on a nearby boat saw the car crash into the water at St. Peter’s Park and called 911 shortly before 10:50 a.m., the Gloucester Fire Department said in a press release. The car landed on its roof, trapping the three people inside it inside the car.

One firefighter immediately jumped into the Gloucester Harbor Cove to help, and several local fishermen and other bystanders soon joined in the rescue effort, the fire department said. Several crewmembers from Tight Lines — a Gloucester-based lobster boat — broke one of the car windows with a hammer to help free those inside.

By the time Gloucester firefighters arrived at the scene, all three people who were in the car had been freed from it, but were still in the water, the fire department said. Their rescuers had kept their heads above the water and rendered medical aid.

“Fortunately it was low tide and not high tide,” Deputy Fire Chief Tom LoGrande said in the release.

The three people were all conscious and alert when they were taken to local hospitals with varying injuries, the fire department said. One of the off-duty firefighters was also taken to a hospital with minor injuries.

The preliminary investigation indicates that the car was driven around granite barriers and over the seawall before plunging 15 to 20 feet into the water, the fire department said. A local tow company removed it from the water.

“We’d like to thank everyone who helped get these three people get out of the vehicle,” Gloucester Fire Chief Eric Smith said in the release. “If not for all of their selfless efforts, this could have been a tragic day in Gloucester. Instead, this is an inspirational story of our community banding together to help three people in mortal danger. All of these people working together in an emergency makes me proud to be a Gloucester resident.”

Gloucester police are still investigating the crash.

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