Toddler survives car crash, 14 hours in frigid Utah river

Lily Groesbeck survived 14 hours in this river
(Image credit: ABC News/YouTube)

As of Sunday evening, 18-month-old Lily Groesbeck was listed in stable but critical condition at a hospital in Salt Lake City, but people are mostly amazed that she is alive.

On Friday night at about 10:30, investigators say, the toddler's mother, Lynn Groesbeck, somehow lost control of her car and drove it into the Spanish Fork river, about 50 miles south of Salt Lake City. When a fisherman discovered the upside-down car at about 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, Lynn Groesbeck, 25, was dead but Lily was alive, hanging upside-down in her car seat above the frigid water.

Lily "is doing remarkably well considering the circumstance. The doctors have been hopeful so far," Lynn Groesbeck's sister, Jill Sanderson, told KLS-TV on Sunday. "We would like to express our appreciation to the Spanish Fork rescue team for saving the baby's life." ABC News has some video from the accident in the news report below. —Peter Weber

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.