CHICAGO (CBS) — A car went into a pond Thursday evening in the Hegewisch neighborhood and one person was pulled out.
As CBS 2’s Charlie De Mar reported, a major response from the Fire Department was still active at 10 p.m. at the Harbor Point Estates mobile home park at 134th Street just west of the Indiana state line.
The car rolled down a grassy area into a retention pond. Caution tape was still up at 10 p.m., and a heavy-duty crane was on the scene to pull the car out.
It was not clear how or why the man ended up in the water.
“All very sad, you know? Wonderful, wonderful, kindhearted man,” said Joyce Williamson.
Neighbors in the mobile home park identified the car in the water as belonging to Cecil Vaineo, who lives in the mobile park home alone.
Williamson is Vaineo’s longtime neighbor. She said he is in his 70s.
“Cecil just went in the lake with his car,” Williamson said. “He called me every day. Yes, every day to check on me and everything – a very good man.”
The CFD said it sent divers to search the pond. Witnesses said a person was removed from the water.
“I seen a car that started going like downhill, and I told my husband, ‘There’s a car in the water,’ and he didn’t want to pay me attention, because he was on the phone, so I’m like, ‘Didn’t you see there’s a car?’” a woman said.
“My wife says, ‘Hey, there’s a car pulling in the water; going down in the water, and I paid it no mind, when home, and came and then we saw all the lights – came back out here, go to find out, and she said, ‘I was telling you,’” a man said. “I didn’t pay her no mind though, but there was a car in the water.”
Police late Thursday said the man pulled from the car was in critical condition.
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