Ontario Provincial Police in Peterborough County say officers rescued a 45-year-old woman after her vehicle crashed into Rice Lake early Tuesday morning.
Officers were dispatched to the lake shortly after midnight after a witness reported seeing an SUV driving at full speed off Wood Duck Drive east of Bailieboro, Ont., before they ended up in the water. The caller also told police that they had not seen anyone emerge from the vehicle.
Police say three officers quickly arrived at the scene before they commandeered a small boat and paddled it toward the vehicle, using the SUV’s headlights as a beacon.
The officers then went into the water, pulling the woman who was behind the wheel from the vehicle. OPP say she was taken to the shore before firefighters took over treatment.
The driver, a 45-year-old woman from Port Elgin, Ont., was taken to an area hospital before she was moved to a Toronto trauma centre for treatment of life-threatening injuries.
Firefighters later pulled the vehicle from the lake, which is located about 20 minutes south of Peterborough and 20 minutes north of Cobourg.
Police say officers are continuing to investigate what caused the crash.