Police believe a Michigan dad who died after driving into a lake was able to pop the back hatch of the vehicle open as it sank, which allowed his two young daughters to escape.
Police say the girls were able to get outthrough the back hatch of the vehicle, according toThe Holland Sentinel.
“They stated the back hatch opened and they were able to crawl out of that and then they swam to shore,” Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Eric Westveer told the newspaper.
Westveer said that there is no handle on the inside of the hatch and that they believe thefather likely was able to get it to openfrom the front of the car, reported MLive. Police also said that it appeared he was attempting to break his window open.
Jon Paul Dowler and daughters.GoFundMe
“At this point we are still looking into the hatch opening, however all indications point to the father opening it,” Westveer tells PEOPLE on Wednesday.
Although an investigation into the crash is ongoing, authorities believe it was accidental.
“At this point, we believe that the father became disoriented, not familiar with the area, which ended up (with) him ending up in the water just because of the way that road is constructed there,” Westveer said, according toThe Holland Sentinel.
Lake Macatawa.Getty Images
“At the end of the road where the pavement ends, there’s about a 20-foot stretch before the water that’s kind of sand and gravel,” he added. “We did not locate any tire marks in that area, so that tells us that at that point, he was airborne before going into the water.”
The newspaper reported that Westveer said the stretch of road is dark, but that it’s properly marked.
“It appears to be a pure accident,” police said, according to MLive.
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The girls told authorities that at the time of the crash they were headed home after visiting a family friend, per theSentinel.
“They (said) they kind of fell asleep and they (woke up) to the sound of the crash and then hitting the water,” Westveer told the newspaper.
Lorelei Denton, a friend of Dowler’s wife, told MLive/The Grand Rapids Pressthat she didn’t believe their father would harm them.
“They are very good people,” she told the outlet of the family. “Jon loved his girls and he would never do anything to hurt them.”
“They did try and knock on some doorsbut there were no answers because those were summer cottages and there’s nobody in residence at the time,” police said, according to ABC affiliate WZZM.
Eventually, they were able to find an enclosed porch to spend the night, reported theSentinel.
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Later that morning, they were finally able to find help.
“I came out andthere’s this little girlstanding about where I am now, with one shoe on and barefoot,” homeowner Kevin Macleod told FOX station WXMI over the weekend.
Police said the homeowner was the one to call, per theSentinel.
“Him getting them out of the elements at that time and started warming up definitely saved their lives,” Westveer told the newspaper.
A GoFundMe has been created to help cover the family’s expenses.
“My goal is to help her raise funds to support the immediate financial burdens, so she can focus her time and energy getting herself and the girls through theroughest time of their lives,” Jenny’s friend, Lorelei Denton, wrote in a message on the fundraising page.
“Just hoping and praying we can all come together and help make such a tragic time, not so hard for this wonderful loving family to overcome,” Denton added.
As of Wednesday, the GoFundMe has raised over $6,000.
source: people.com
