Yesterday, the Manitowoc Police Department identified the Officer who risked his life in an attempt to save a man who had driven his car into the Manitowoc River late last week as Officer Matt Klein.
We reached out to Officer Klein, who explained what happened at around 7:00 last Friday. “Me and my partner were actually on the north side of town already when the call came in,” he told SeehaferNews.com. “We responded to that parking lot by the Baymont, and I was actually the first one there. Some citizens were pointing me in the direction of where the car entered the water, because I just came in kind of blind. At the same time I overheard over the radio officers from the south side of town, saying the bridge was going up, and I knew that the Fire Department and at least three other officers were coming from the south side of town.”
Officer Klein then took stock of the situation, and with the aid of some kayakers in the water, located where the vehicle was. He said “You could see bubbles in the water from where the car had started sinking, so we had an idea where the car was. I asked the kayakers first, because I had my life jacket, if they could throw him a life jacket, and they said ‘No. The car is completely underwater.’ Once my partner, Officer Nolan showed up, I just took off my vest and belt…he held one end of the rope and I held the other and just jumped in to see if I could pop the door open or help in any way that I could.”
Klein called it a “calculated risk” diving in after the vehicle, but he knew he had to do it. “It’s always scary thinking you are going to jump into the river,” he stated. ”I mean there’s air pockets that could certainly suck you down with the car, but I had a life jacket, I had a rope, I had a partner up on shore. I felt relatively safe doing it, but I had to get in there and at least see if there was something I could do, especially knowing that the Fire Department and everybody else was a few minutes away. Those few minutes could have been crucial.”
Klein actually has experience as a rescue diver, as he held that job in the U.S. Navy. Officer Klein said that he dove down a couple of times trying to find the vehicle, but to no avail. After a couple of dives, additional resources arrived on the scene, and took over the recovery effort.
26 year old Jeffrey Pagel died in the incident.
Officer Klein voiced his regret that the outcome was not better, but thanked the other agencies that arrived on the scene to help. He also voiced his sympathy for the family of Pagel.
Results from his autopsy are expected in the next 8 to 12 weeks.
