'Tesla sitting in the middle of our pool': Lifeguards, first responders help rescue man who drove car into Waveny Park swimming pool
Police say the man was attempting to park his car but accelerated through a set of trees and the pool perimeter fence. He then drove into the pool.
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A group of New Canaan lifeguards are being hailed as heroes after helping first responders rescue a man who inadvertently drove his car into the public pool at Waveny Park.
Town officials say the driver was trying to park his vehicle on Tuesday morning around 10:30 a.m. but accelerated instead. The car then traveled between a set of trees, through a fence, and into the pool.
"My coworkers and I were setting up the food court umbrellas, and all of a sudden we hear this loud crash," lifeguard Mike D'Urso says. "We turned around, and there's just a Tesla sitting in the middle of our pool."
The pool was closed at the time, town officials say.
D'Urso was one of the first lifeguards to spring into action.
"I stayed pretty calm because the guy was breathing and he was conscious," D'Urso says. "My main concern was that the water level would rise above his head, so we had to get him out before that happened."
Once New Canaan police arrived, authorities say D'Urso helped officers break a window, open the door, and remove the driver safely on a backboard.
The driver wasn't injured, but he was transported to the hospital for an evaluation.
A rotator tow truck was brought in to lift the vehicle out of the pool.
New Canaan Parks and Recreation director John Howe says since windows had to be broken during the rescue, the pool will be closed for the next few days so the town can drain it and make sure it's safe for people to go back in it.
"A car in the pool definitely takers the cake," Howe says. "I've never seen anything like this here in the town."
It's a day D'Urso and his fellow lifeguards won't soon forget.
"I've gotten a lot of calls from my grandparents, I can tell you that," D'Urso says with a chuckle. "They're calling me a hero."
