Off-Duty Officers, Electrician Hailed As Heroes After Rescuing Woman From N.J. Pond

EATONTOWN, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- Two everyday heroes and an electrician created an Easter miracle this past weekend, coming to the rescue of an elderly woman in Monmouth County, New Jersey.

As CBS2's Meg Baker reported Friday, tire imprints near a water basin near a busy intersection in Eatontown marked the spot where the heroes were made on Easter Sunday.

"We got off the parkway exit 105 and there was a light there. We were about five or six deep from the light," said Jersey City police Detective Vincent Disbrow. "And when light turned green, we heard a bang."

Disbrow and his wife, Jersey City police Officer Donnamarie Viola-Disbrow, were off duty driving their daughter to Monmouth University. They witnessed Kathleen Yuro, 84, swerve and drive over two dividers near Hope Road and Route 36 straight into the water-filled ditch.

"We went down to the thing, and realized that she was floating away in water," Disbrow said. "And at that point, my wife went immediately into the water."

Their daughter called 911. Meanwhile, another man, John McGowan – an electrician from Red Bank – did not hesitate to help. He got out in front of the car and pushed it out of the water.

"For us, it's instinct. For John, it was heroic," Disbrow said, "because he doesn't have background, and he went in there."

McGowan did not want to go on camera. But officers said without his assistance, they may not have gotten the woman out.

"The three of us were actually in the middle of the basin, and we pulled it back," Viola-Disbrow said.

The water was freezing, and the group was sinking in mud.

"While we were pushing it, she was up to her lap in water, and I broke the back window trying to get her out and it filled up to her chest," Disbrow said.

Yuro was taken to Jersey Shore Medical Center in Neptune City with minor injuries. CBS2 tried to meet up with her on Friday, but she went down to Atlantic City with a friend.

Yuro's son said his mother was very shaken up by what happened. Their family would like to thank the rescuers.

Police said it remains unclear how exactly the crash happened. A car and a sport-utility vehicle at the scene had clearly collided, and the sport-utility vehicle had also hit a pole.