Man, Woman Rescued After Car Plunges Into Willow Creek In Rosemont

ROSEMONT, Ill. (CBS)-- A dramatic rescue was caught on camera in Rosemont Tuesday evening, after a car plunged upside-down into a creek.

As CBS 2's Charlie De Mar reported, the incident took place in Willow Creek, a tributary of the Des Plaines River, far below the junction of River and Higgins roads.

What is so unusual about the accident is that the local police superintendent remained unsure late Tuesday how there were no tire marks, flowers along the parkway were left intact, and the gate was broken evenly for the car as if it had been perfectly cut out.

The car was left upside-down and 20 feet below, in the shadow of the Rosemont Water Tower.

"It was pretty hard for them to figure out how to get them out, first of all," said Marilu Garcia.

Police scaled a wall and cut a man and woman out of their seat belts.

The man was breathing heavily was found at first submerged in water and unconscious.

Both were loaded onto backboards and hoisted up a ladder one at a time.

Witness Liz Gauna shot cellphone video of the dramatic rescue.

"There's one person and then a second person, and you're like, 'Oh God, I hope there's no kids in there,'" Gauna said. "There wasn't, thanks be to God."

It was a genuine concern, since a car seat could be seen in the back. But there was no child inside.

"How the heck did the car get down there?" Gauna said.

"I pass through there every day, I don't know how many times a day, and I really, I mean, don't know how it happened," Garcia added.

With no distinct tire marks and a clean cut at the gate, police also want to know how it all happened.

Once the rescue was made, the car was hoisted from the creek using a crane – an act that brought dozens of spectators.

"It was a marvelous job that they did today, rescuing everybody in that car," Garcia said.

Car now being hoisted out of the creek. It was removed in just a few minutes. @cbschicago pic.twitter.com/2aS5tUyntc

— Charlie De Mar (@CharlieDeMar) August 7, 2019

The officers who made the rescue let their muddied uniforms speak for their life-saving actions.

The man and woman who were rescued from the car were recovering at an area hospital Tuesday night. Police said the question of whether alcohol or drugs were involved in the incident will be part of the investigation.