Woman face down in lake rescued after car slams into retaining wall, MI cops say

A 70-year-old woman was found floating face down after her car slammed into a retaining wall, and rescuers jumped into the water to save her, Michigan officials say.

Officers responded to a call about a vehicle in the water in Lake St. Clair at about 8:20 a.m. Monday, Aug. 4, the city of Grosse Pointe Farms said in a news release.

When officers arrived, officials say they “located a small Kia vehicle with its front end submerged in Lake St. Clair and its rear resting on the retaining wall at a 45-degree angle.” The driver was in the water roughly 30 feet from shore and 150 feet from the site of the crash, having been carried by the current.

Officers swam out to the woman and brought her to shore, but she wasn’t breathing and had no pulse, officials say. They began performing CPR, and after a minute she coughed water out of her lungs and “slowly regained consciousness.”

The woman, who is a Detroit resident, was taken to a hospital for treatment of injuries caused by the crash, officials said.

“The Grosse Pointe Farms Department of Public Safety would like to thank the concerned citizens who quickly dialed 911. Their swift action enabled our officers to arrive on the scene within two minutes, which was critical to the outcome of this incident,” the city said.

Grosse Pointe Farms is a suburb of Detroit and a roughly 10-mile drive northeast from the city’s downtown.

This story was originally published August 5, 2025 at 11:45 AM with the headline "Woman face down in lake rescued after car slams into retaining wall, MI cops say."