Baby Utah River - An 18-month-old girl has been found in critical condition but alive in a car more than 14 hours after the automobile crashed into a Utah river. The girl's mother was found dead in the driver's seat, however, police said.
The mother of the baby found in the Utah river has been identified as Lynn Groesbeck, 25, from Springville. According to The Times-Picayune, family members told police that Groesbeck left her parents' home in Salem, Utah, around 10 p.m. on Friday. She was on her way to her Springville home near Provo when the crash occurred.
Investigators suspect that the vehicle went into the Spanish Fork River, which is about 50 miles south of Salt Lake City, after it struck a cement barrier about 22:30 local time (04:30 GMT) Friday, according to the Spanish Fork Public Safety Department.
The vehicle carrying the baby found in the Utah river had been difficult to spot from the road since it went right under the bridge, reported ABC News.
The baby in Utah river, Lily Groesbeck, was found by a fisherman on 12:30 p.m. Saturday, hanging upside down above water in her car seat. The temperature reportedly fell into the 30s overnight while the baby in Utah river had been trapped inside the vehicle.
She surprisingly survived for 14 hours as the water flowing through the car didn't touched her because she hung by straps in her car seat, according to police.
The fisherman was able to raise the alarm the day after the crash, after he saw the baby in Utah river dangling above the water as the water flowed through the car, according to the BBC.
"The baby was in a car seat in the backseat on the passenger side," said Lt. Cory Slaymaker, Spanish Fork Police Departments. "The vehicle was on its top, so the car seat could have been out of the water. The car was on the embankment, so I don't know how much water was getting into the car."
Slaymaker added that the water had been so cold that rescue workers could only stay in it for short periods of time. Three police officers and four firefighters who entered the river to rescue the baby in Utah river were treated in the hospital for hypothermia.
On Sunday, the 18-month-old girl was listed in stable but critical condition at Primary Chidren's Hospital in Salt Lake City. According to the family, Lily was already breathing on her own by Sunday evening.
"We're not exactly sure where that voice came from," Spanish Fork Officer Jared Warner told the Deseret News.
"She is doing remarkably well considering the circumstance. The doctors have been hopeful so far," the mother's sister, Jill Sanderson, told KSL-TV of Salt Lake City. "We would like to express our appreciation to the Spanish Fork rescue team for saving the baby's life."
The baby in Utah river may have survived, but the crash is still being investigated. The Utah Highway Patrol is reportedly assisting the investigation into why the vehicle left the road in the first place.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
