Family's Christmas skating adventure turned into life-saving rescue

When four family members set out to go skating on Christmas night, the last thing they expected was to save someone’s life.

But, that’s exactly what Jacob Aldrich, along with family members Rachel Bowling, John Bowling and Toby Bowling did when they went skating on the Downtown Canal in Indianapolis on Christmas Day.

A night that started as a family ice-skating excursion ended with Aldrich pulling a woman out of the water after she had driven her 2015 Chevrolet Malibu on the ice, which gave way, plunging her car into the frigid waters.

When the four first saw the car moving down the canal around 11 p.m. they initially thought the car's driver had checked the ice — even possibly drilled through it.

“My immediate assumption (was) that it was someone who knew what they were doing ... they were just kind of goofing around,” John Bowling said.

Winter storm Elliott: As toll rises in Buffalo, were the deaths preventable?

The four are from Indianapolis and have skated on the canal for years and decided to hit the ice late Sunday after wrapping up family Christmas festivities, 31-year-old Aldrich said. Despite their experience, they know the risks of skating there and are always cautious.

“We know where it tends to be frozen and where it is not,” John Bowling said.

Videos of the event Rachel Bowling posted to TikTok showed the car driving on the canal, and the shocked group reacting in real time. The video has more than 10 million views.

“Anyone from Indianapolis knows that’s water, and that’s not a place cars go,” Rachel Bowling said in a follow-up TikTok that has over 940,000 views.

The 33-year-old woman driving told firefighters she was following her GPS.

After she drove onto the ice, the skaters kept an eye on her, scarcely losing sight of the car, Aldrich said.

She first passed them driving north on the canal until hitting a dead end at 10th Street, the fire report said. She then turned around and drove south.

When the car passed the group a second time, they knew anyone in the vehicle was in danger and raced down the canal after the car to warn the driver.

"We knew that it was thawed out down there," John Bowling said.

“It became clear pretty quickly that she was having a hard time understanding what was happening,” Aldrich said.

About two minutes later the car started to sink near the New York Street bridge.

When the water began to envelop the car, moving slowly up the side of its door, Aldrich decided he needed to take action.

“She wasn't looking to get out," he said. "So I just jumped in.”

The water was only about 5 feet deep, but cold, even though he was expecting the icy plunge, Aldrich said. As he stood on the sloping edge of the canal wearing ice skates, he struggled to keep his footing as the car slid away from him, but he pulled her out through the window. The water pressure was likely keeping her from opening the car door, he said.

Aldrich knew he had to get her, and himself, out of the freezing water as fast as possible.

"Realistically, if you're not in there long, there's not much danger," he said. "But it's just time. So it just needed to get done quick."

The driver was checked by medics and transported to Eskenazi, and her car was towed out of the canal that night.

While Aldrich never envisioned having to rescue someone from a sinking car, safety is top of mind when skating. Aldrich said he always brings a backpack full of dry clothes, just in case.

"I think that's one reason I just kind of got in," he said, "because every time we go down there I do consider what I would do if I went in."

The woman is facing an operating a vehicle while intoxicated charge related to the incident.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Woman drives car onto iced-over canal. Skater saves her life