Ind. Providers Save Preacher From Drowning

Jan. 04--SPENCER -- Trapped inside his sinking Chevrolet van, the water rising inside, Jim Root prayed.

What else was a preacher to do?

"The water suddenly was in my mouth, then up to my nose, and the water was so cold," the 76-year-old Spencer resident said. "I prayed to the Lord, 'You know I can't swim, I'm afraid of water and always have been afraid of drowning, but will you at least make it easy?"

He opened his eyes. "I could see through the water. The van was full. Then the water was warm, and I saw these beautiful orange and blue flowers, and vivid light through them. I said, 'Thank you so much.' Then I passed out."

He woke up in the emergency room at Bloomington Hospital. His chest hurt, a lot, from the life-saving efforts of medics who restarted his heart. They saved Root, and his wife, Phyllis, the morning of Oct. 24 after their van plunged into a farm pond as they drove east on Ind. 46 at the Monroe-Owen county line.

The Roots were headed to Menard's with a $135 rebate check, ruined by the water, to purchase materials for the ongoing renovation of their old house on Main Street.

Owen County Emergency Medical Services personnel were in the area with an ambulance when they got a call about a van submerged in a farm pond. When they arrived three minutes later, the van was out of sight; bubbles were coming to the surface of the 10-foot-deep pond.

Owen County residents Gerry LaPadula and Richard Roby, driving by in separate vehicles, already had broken a glass panel in the back of the van and retrieved Phyllis Root. But her husband, who had slipped between the seats, could not be seen.

EMTs Tabetha Wood, Jamey Hardin and Ron Neibel entered the frigid pond and somehow pulled Jim Root from the water-filled vehicle. His wife, wrapped in a blanket inside an ambulance, watched as the rescuers performed CPR and tried to revive her husband at the edge of the pond.

"He's breathing, he's breathing," she heard them cry out after several minutes. "His eyes are open!"

Jim Root remembers nothing of the rescue. But looking back, he is amazed at how everyone converged at the scene. "My goodness, there were so many people there trying to help. I just thank the Lord and all of these people who stopped," he said. "I am appreciating every moment of every day."

At their Dec. 19 meeting, the Owen County commissioners recognized the EMTs, LaPadula and Roby for their heroic efforts. The Roots attended the meeting to add their thanks as well.

"I think they were as excited and happy to see us, alive and well, as we were to see them," Jim Root said.

Copyright 2012 - Herald-Times, Bloomington, Ind.