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“One mom jumped in fully clothed to get her girl out,” Grendel Clark exclusively tells PEOPLE of the Monday, July 13, incident
NEED TO KNOW
- A Jeep crashed into a Vermont resort pool where multiple children were swimming. Joey Sage, 9, was injured and suffered a concussion
- Joey’s family member, Grendel Clark, tells PEOPLE that despite the incident, Joey “is adamant that he is not scared to swim again”
- Witnesses reportedly said a woman was detained by police; however, it is unclear if it was the driver of the vehicle
An SUV crashed into a swimming pool and dragged a 9-year-old boy underwater.
On Monday, July 13, at 3:30 p.m. local time, Vermont State Police were alerted to a single-car crash at Smuggler’s Notch Resort in Jeffersonville, Vt, it said in a news release. Upon arrival, responding officers found a car had “driven through a fence surrounding a pool and had become stuck in the pool.”
Two people were injured and were treated by Cambridge Rescue Squad. Police did not identify anyone involved in the incident due to their ages.
When the vehicle, a Jeep, drove through the fence and into the water, it struck Joseph “Joey” Sage, hit his head, and pulled him under before the tire was trapped below the water, according to Fox 10 and NBC 5.
Joey’s family member, Grendel Clark, exclusively tells PEOPLE, “By amazing coincidence, Joey had just started going underwater at the perfect moment, so the surface of the water broke the bulk of the car’s weight before a tire landed on his head and started pushing him down as it sank in a 3-foot area.”
“I just cannot stand thinking about if his feet had been solidly on the ground when it landed on him,” Clark told NBC 5.
Joey’s father pulled him out of the water, as well as a little girl, whom he handed to her mother, Clark tells PEOPLE. “One mom jumped in fully clothed to get her girl out,” they say, adding, “The young lifeguards did everything perfectly.”
Joey was taken to the hospital on Tuesday, July 14, because he “wasn’t feeling well,” and learned he has a concussion. Despite his injury, Joey “is adamant that he is not scared to swim again.”
His father was almost struck, “but he had no idea that had happened, since it all happened so fast,” Clark says, noting that another person at the pool told Joey’s father, “‘You’re the one who almost got hit when it flew right over your head.’”
Witnesses reportedly said a woman was detained by police; however, it is unclear if it was the driver of the vehicle. The car was removed via crane hours later, and the pool was temporarily closed.
“The poor driver was so, so shaken up,” Clark says. Clark explains that once they realized Joey was okay, they went over to the driver to let her know. “I walked over to where she was talking to an officer. I told her I just wanted her to know Joey was okay and not to worry, since he was the boy under the car.”
“She was just so upset and thanked me for telling her,” Clark says, adding that the driver was “sobbing” and “so scared that everybody wouldn’t be okay.” As the driver “shook like a leaf,” Clark gave her a hug.
“My family feels awful for her,” Clark says.
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An investigation into the crash is currently underway.
PEOPLE reached out to Smugglers Notch Resort and Vermont State Police for comment.