Hero deputy stops pregnant woman’s runaway car from plunging in freezing Illinois lake: ‘I cannot die today’

An Illinois deputy came to the rescue of a pregnant woman whose runaway car was racing toward a freezing lake when the brakes stopped working – in a heart-pounding save captured on camera. 

The incident occurred around 2 a.m. Monday when emergency services received a frantic call from a woman who’d lost control behind the wheel on a rural road near Carterville, according to the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office.

“I need help. My brakes won’t stop. My car won’t stop. My brakes aren’t working,” the distraught woman told dispatchers.

“I’m 20 weeks pregnant. I cannot die today.”

The dispatcher guided the woman to safety as dashcam footage showed Deputy Tyler Coffey pull his patrol car in front of the woman’s Chevy Malibu, which was traveling about 30 miles per hour on the dark road, police said.

He then pressed on his brakes, slowly bringing the woman’s car to a stop after her front bumper gently collided with the rear of the patrol car, just under a half mile from Crab Orchard Lake.

“Had the Deputy not been on scene or delayed performing this maneuver the driver and vehicle would have likely gone into the water upon reaching the lake,” Sheriff Jeff Diederich said.

The woman, her dog who was with her in the car, and the deputies involved were unharmed, CBS reported, though both cars sustained minor damage.

Coffey, who is now being hailed as a hero for his life-saving response, credited everyone involved for the successful rescue.

“I appreciate the comments, but we’re all heroes – everybody from the dispatchers down to the deputies,” he told the outlet.

“Everybody worked together and made this a safe incident.”