Trooper Rescues Man Trapped in Car Under Four Feet of Snow

A New York State Trooper last week saved a man trapped inside his car, which was buried under four feet of snow in Owego.

“Troopers said Zone Sergeant Jason Cawley responded after Tioga County 911 Dispatch received several calls about a driver who ran off the road and needed help, but wasn’t located,” CNY Central reported.

Cawley drove to the area of State Route 17C but was still unable to locate the man.

“While patrolling, Z/Sgt Cawley saw what appeared to be a row of mailboxes and waded through the snow to check the addresses,” the New York State Police said in a Facebook post.

After digging deeper, he struck the windshield of a car and found the man who had been calling for help.

“When I finally punched the window of this car in the snow, I think I was shocked for about a second, staring at it, thinking, ‘That can’t possible [sic] be a car I’m standing on under here,'” Cawley recalled.

Inside the vehicle was Kevin Kresen, who told the trooper he could not feel his feet.

Once Cawley and a neighbor got him out of the car, the trooper wasted no time in driving him to the hospital.

“Stranded for more than 10 hours, with no heat due to a broken serpentine belt, the man was suffering from hypothermia and frostbite,” the agency’s post read, adding that Kresen had been plowed in by a truck.

The agency shared photos on Twitter of the car and the two men following the rescue:

Meet Zone Sergeant Jason Cawley of Troop C.
Today, Sergeant Cawley located a driver who had been stranded more than 10 hours after his car went off the road and he was plowed in, covered with almost 4 feet of snow. https://t.co/kGp9fT5EAj pic.twitter.com/240uh9UwQP

— NewYorkStatePolice (@nyspolice) December 17, 2020

“He’s tenacious, I mean he wouldn’t give up until he found me,” noted Kresen, who is now recovering at home. “He knew I was in that area and he said, ‘I’m going to find that guy.'”

Cawley said he was just glad to be in the right place at the right time.

“The actions of Sergeant Cawley no doubt saved the driver’s life. Job well done,” the state police’s post concluded.