FORTVILLE — Lee Carnish was working his normal shift as a full-time resource officer at Mt. Vernon Middle School earlier this week when he went above and beyond after hearing about an emergency nearby and raced to the scene.
Carnish, an officer with the Fortville Police Department, ended up jumping waist-deep into a retention pond along with a child’s father to save the small girl, who was in the back seat of a car that had rolled into the water.
The incident happened just after 7 a.m. Monday, Oct. 25, in the 1800 block of Crossley Street in Fortville.
The child’s mother told police she leaned out of the vehicle to pick something up and fell out. That caused her foot to come off the brake while the vehicle was in gear.
The vehicle then rolled away, ending up in the water with the 5-year-old strapped in a safety seat in the back.
Patrick Bratton, Fortville’s chief of police, said Carnish will be given a life-saving award for his quick actions in helping rescue the child.
“He was working at a nearby school, heard the call and realized it was real close to him and thought, ‘I should go,’” Bratton said.
When Carnish arrived, he didn’t hesitate and jumped into the pond, along with the child’s father, and the two helped free the girl.
Carnish, who said he didn’t want to comment, noted he was just doing his job and said in an email to the Daily Reporter that any other first-responder would’ve done the same thing.
“I just happened to get there first,” Carnish said in the email.
A report states Carnish jumped into the waist-deep, chilly water and made his way about 15 yards along with the father to get to the partially submerged vehicle..
“I think we fried a taser out of this,” Bratton said with a laugh. “But this sure could have been a tragedy had our officer not responded the way he did.”
The girl, who is in kindergarten, was able to head to school shortly after.
Officials from the Fortville Police Department received a letter this week from the girl’s teacher, who told them the little girl had told her classmates that the policeman was very kind to her and made her feel safe. The child liked that the officer kept telling her daddy was a real hero.
Carnish and the father worked so quickly, they were able to get the child out of the vehicle before medics arrived. The child and everyone who went into the water checked out OK at the scene, Vernon Township Fire Department Chief Chad Abel said.
“It was a close call, but everyone is healthy and happy,” Abel said. “Fortunately, we didn’t have a whole lot to do from our end, but to make sure everyone was OK.”
Abel noted cars, even in shallow water, sink fast and can fill up quickly. He was certain, he said, the fast action of the officer and the father likely prevented a tragedy.
