HARTFORD, Vt. — A young mother is being credited with rescuing her toddler son from his car seat after their car crashed into a river in a New England town.
Emergency crews responded to the Ottauquechee River in the area of Main Street near the Mill Run Condominiums in Hartford, Vermont, around 1:30 p.m. Monday after receiving a report of a woman who was clinging to the side of a submerged vehicle as it floated downstream, according to the Hartford Fire Department.
When crews arrived at the scene, officials say they found the 26-year-old woman and her 2-year-old son safe on the bank of the river.
After the crash, the mother cut through a deployed airbag, escaped through a window to get to her son, and unbuckled him, according to the fire department.
The mother and son were taken to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center for evaluation, although they weren’t seriously injured.
A heavy-duty tow truck was called to the scene and used a crane arm to lift the wrecked vehicle from the river.
The cause of the crash wasn’t immediately clear.
Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
©2026 Cox Media Group
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/7QOJU3BNCJERBNKJC5LWTBYFLU.png)
