Police recruits rescue trapped woman

Dylan McCrary and Richard Conkleton extricated a woman from a car trapped in a ditch with  rising water.
Dylan McCrary and Richard Conkleton extricated a woman from a car trapped in a ditch with rising water.

Two Texarkana, Ark., police officers en route to Law Enforcement Training Academy for graduation helped a woman get to safety after her car ran off the roadway and hit a large culvert Friday morning on Highway 278 in Ouachita County.

Richard Conkleton and Dylan McCrary noticed a small vehicle off the road, which was barely visible in a ditch with rising water, according to a press release.

The officers approached and determined a female driver was trapped inside by mud and water pushing on the doors.

While Officer McCrary worked on freeing the woman, Officer Conkleton drove down the road to search for a cellphone signal to call 911.

Eventually the officers got the woman out of the vehicle safely, after which she was taken to a local hospital for treatment of minor injuries.

Without the recruits' help, the woman could have been in a "grave situation," TAPD spokeswoman Cpl. Kristi Bennett said.

Bennett said the two recruits were able to clean up and graduate on time.

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