Dartmouth and Westport Police rescue two after car plunges into water off of Route 6

DARTMOUTH, MA – On Friday, April 15, 2022 at approximately 10:40 p.m., members of the Dartmouth Police Department, along with other emergency personnel, responded to the area of #950 State Road for a reported vehicle in the water.

Upon arrival, officers located a 2016 Ford Focus submerged in approximately six to seven feet of water in Lake Noquochoke.

As the two occupants of the vehicle were trapped inside, Dartmouth police officers Justin Amaral and Joseph Hilchey, as well as Officer Jeremy Dellecese of the Westport Police Department, immediately removed their duty gear and entered the water.

Once in the water, the officers swam approximately one hundred feet out to the vehicle.

Upon reaching the vehicle, the officers were able to effectively assist the two occupants out, and, with the assistance of other emergency personnel now on scene, back to shore.

Subsequent to reaching the shoreline, the two occupants of the vehicle, as well as one of the officers, were transported to St. Luke’s Hospital in New Bedford, where they were treated and released for exposure and minor injuries.

Though the crash is still under investigation, it appears as if alcohol and speed, as well as lack of knowledge of the area, all contributed to the crash.

It is expected that the twenty-one-year-old North Attleboro man who was operating the vehicle, will receive citations associated with the crash.

According to Dartmouth Deputy Chief of Police, Tony Vincent, “Had it not been for the selfless acts of these officers, this unfortunate incident could have turned out much worse. Not only do I applaud their heroic efforts, but also those of our dispatchers and the other first responders associated with this crash and subsequent rescue.”