Man rescued after truck goes through ice on Willmar Lake
WILLMAR - A 73-year-old Willmar man was treated for hypothermia Saturday evening after his pickup truck broke through the ice on Willmar Lake.
A Willmar Police officer passing by at about 6:15 p.m. saw the truck partially submerged in the water and also spotted the driver walking away from the vehicle across the ice.
The officer walked out onto the ice and assisted the driver, James C. Schneider of Willmar, to a nearby portable fish house. Schneider was wet from being in the cold water and was beginning to develop hypothermia.
Rescue personnel transported Schneider to shore and then took him to Rice Memorial Hospital, where he was treated and later released.
Authorities said the ice was approximately three inches thick where the truck broke through. The truck, a Chevrolet Silverado, eventually submerged completely under the ice.
Besides Willmar Police, the Kandiyohi County Sheriff's Office, Willmar Ambulance Service and Kandiyohi County Rescue Squad were on the scene.
