Richard Van Sant, Jr., helped to save Janet L. Hlas, Lillie L. Pustek, and Marjorie L. Maslanka from drowning, Bloomington, Indiana, June 26, 1998. Sisters Ms. Hlas, 63; Ms. Pustek, 60, and Ms. Maslanka, 64, were occupants of a van that, at night, was accidentally driven from a boat ramp into Lake Monroe. From his boat nearby on the lake, Van Sant, 34, off-duty firefighter, saw the accident, then immediately jumped into the water and swam to the van, which drifted to a point about 120 feet from the bank. Another man also saw the accident, from the bank, and swam to the van. Van Sant and the other man attempted to gain entry to the van through its windows and doors, but they were not successful. The van started to submerge nose first in the 20-foot-deep water. With a rock that the men obtained from the bank, Van Sant broke out the van’s rear, passenger-side window, providing egress for the women, who were nonswimmers. Ms. Hlas was the first to exit the vehicle; Van Sant swam her toward the bank, meeting a woman who took her the remaining distance to safety. After emerging next from the van, Ms. Pustek submerged the other man, but they resurfaced, and the man took Ms. Pustek to the bank. Having returned to the van, Van Sant secured a hold of Ms. Maslanka, who exited the vehicle as it submerged, and swam to the bank with her.
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