Mass. Officer Rescued After Falling Into Sinkhole

A western Massachusetts police department is thanking two citizens who came to the rescue of an officer who was in danger of drowning in a water-filled sinkhole.

The Recorder reports that a driver crashed into a hydrant in Greenfield at around 11 p.m. Sunday. The impact released a water flow that created the sinkhole.

While investigating, Officer Megan Gilbert fell into the hole filled with water above her head.

Chief Robert Haigh says Gilbert was weighed down by her equipment and couldn't escape.

Ann Dillon and Verne Sund, who live in the vicinity, went outside to check things out. They found Gilbert and pulled her to safety.

Sund credited his training in the Air Force for the rescue.

Greenfield police issued a public thank you on their Facebook page. 

(function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.3"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));