Jon Paul Dowler, a father from Michigan, lost his life when his car mistakenly drove into a freezing lake. According to police, the 52-year-old had been lost while navigating down a dark road in the early hours of Sunday morning, when the accident occurred.
However, it is believed that Dowler may have acted heroically in the face of death by opening the trunk of his SUV in an effort to help his two young daughters, ages 8 and 10, escape.
The girls were able to swim to safety and spent the night huddled together on a nearby porch, where they were luckily found in the morning unharmed.
Law enforcement stated that there was no handle on the inside of the car’s back trunk, so it is believed that Dowler opened it himself as the vehicle sank in the icy lake. Lieutenant, Eric
The Ottawa County sheriff’s office is slowly questioning the girls about the traumatic incident they experienced.
The car crashed into the water at the end of Jenison Avenue, a tranquil residential street in Macatawa that leads directly to the lake. Police are still trying to uncover a complete timeline of the events of the accident.
The two girls managed to flee their drowning car, but were unable to get assistance since the area was deserted in the winter. They decided to take refuge on someone’s porch until the sun came up.
When they arrived, they saw the lights of a Christmas tree shining inside the house. The girls were in wet winter coats and had gone barefoot. It was then that they reached out to the homeowner, Kevin MacLeod, for help.
MacLeod said, “They had a really bad night. Today’s not good either and they’re probably not going be good for a while.” He continued by saying, “They lost their dad last night. That’s tough at any age.”