ST. LOUIS (AP) — A baby found inside an SUV submerged in a lake near St. Louis is expected to recover, thanks to the fast actions of a passing motorist and a paramedic.
But Thursday was still a tragic day in Madison County, Illinois, where one person died in a house fire and a second died in the lake in what authorities say are connected cases.
It began at 5:15 a.m. on Glen Carbon, Illinois, when fire broke out at a home owned by Cristy Lynn Campbell. An adult died in the fire but six children, siblings ranging from very young to teenagers, escaped. Sheriff John Lakin says the person killed has not been identified.
At 5:31 a.m., a motorist near Silver Lake in Highland, Illinois, saw a car heading toward the water and called 911. Paramedic Todd Zobrist arrived quickly, jumped into the 46-degree water and found a baby floating inside the car. He administered CPR on the hood then swam with the child to shore.
Lakin says the child is expected to be released Friday from a hospital in St. Charles, Missouri.
At 11:15 a.m., a body was pulled from the lake. The victim has not been identified but Lakin says authorities are no longer searching for Campbell.