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Champaign honored the people who reached a 90-year-old in a sinking car

In August her car went into a flooded retention pond on North Prospect Avenue. Three residents received Community Lifesaving Awards. Four officers received the chief's challenge coin, not those awards.

Verified · Source: Good News NetworkOct 6, 2026 · 1 min read
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A calm retention pond with a grassy bank and trees
Illustrative photo of a retention pond at Cape Fear Academy in North Carolina. This is not the pond in Champaign, and the car is not pictured. DiscoA340 / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

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On a stormy afternoon in August, a 90-year-old driver lost control on the 1900 block of North Prospect Avenue in Champaign and went into a flooded retention pond. Good News Network reported on October 6, 2026, that the car sank up to its roof. Three community members went into the water. Four Champaign police officers helped pull her out. She was rescued.

On September 29 the three people who entered the water received Community Lifesaving Awards. The four officers received the chief's challenge coin for the risks they took. They did not receive the lifesaving awards. The driver came to the ceremony and thanked the people who got her to safety.

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