Woman Drives Into Pool, Nearly Crushes 3 Swimmers During Ohio Backyard Bash (VIDEO)

By Daniel Distant, Christian Post Reporter Tuesday, July 15, 2014

A woman drove into the pool in Lakewood, Ohio Saturday, nearly hitting three swimmers during a backyard pool party. Cheryl Chapman, 46, was charged with operating a vehicle while impaired and reckless operation, with one of the swimmers having to pull her from the submerged wreckage, saving her life.

The woman who drove into the pool in the Cleveland suburb had crashed through the fence with so much speed and force that the 15 partygoers thought it was "a bomb."

"We looked toward the fence, we heard an explosion. I thought it was a bomb," Nancy Wilson, who owns the home with her husband Trent, told WJW. "That's what everyone thought, it's just a bomb."

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One of the swimmers, Christopher Sanford, had just dived into the pool when he heard the loud bang— he actually thought he was the source of the sound.

"I thought, 'Oh man, that's an awesome explosion I just did,'" he said. "And I turn around and there's a jeep in the pool."

"Literally when I hit the water that's when the jeep came through. So, if I would have waited two more seconds, I would have been struck in midair," Sanford continued.

Fortunately, neither he nor the other two swimmers in the pool were hit by Chapman's careening vehicle. But then the 46-year-old woman was trapped underwater in the completely submerged Jeep, and partygoers encouraged Sanford to help her.

"She had her safety belt on. I pulled her out of the vehicle. She went under a couple of times because I couldn't get her safety belt off and the door was locked. I successfully got her out of the car though," Sanford told WJW.

Once Chapman was rescued, she told party attendees and police that her "brakes were bad." Lakewood authorities still charged her with operating a vehicle impaired, though it is unknown what kind of drugs or alcohol she had in her system.