Heroes save toddler from sunken car
"I needed to get my baby out and I just undid my seatbelt, opened my door and got out of the car.
"I went to go open my baby's door and couldn't get it opened so I started panicking. And then these dudes came running across the water and were so good to me."
The car was half-submerged in the high tide when the men broke the glass and bent the pillar of the window frame down so Mr Griffin could swim under and free the toddler, whose head was only 20cm above the water.
He then cuddled Mikaylah, who was unharmed, and took her back to the shore. She was then wrapped in Mr Hughes' outdoor coat.
They also comforted the traumatised mother - who had a sore foot, torn ligaments in her shoulder and back and a bump on her head - and kept her warm with a polar fleece jumper until emergency services arrived.
"[The baby] was quite fine. She was more distressed from the mother screaming, 'My baby'," Mr Griffin said.
"When I hugged her and spoke to her, she was fine.
Safe travels for all
MASON CITY — Safeguarding infants and young children is never more important than when riding in a motor vehicle.
Young riders, including infants and children younger than the age of 10, have bodies that are more fragile and therefore may be more susceptible to injury in the event of an accident.
The state of Iowa requires that children between the ages of 6 and 18 ride in a booster seat installed according to the manufacturer’s instructions or be secured by an adult seat belt. Child safety seats are required for children under the age of 6.
Child safety seats should be placed in the rear seat away from the air bags, said Mason City Police Officer Jeremy Ryal, certified child passenger safety technician for the MCPD.
Seats should be rear-facing for infants and children up to the age of 2 so that the high back of the seat can protect them in the case of a crash.
Specifically, children who are a year old or younger or weigh less than 20 pounds must be secured in a rear-facing child restraint system.
