The Grant County Sheriff’s Department has received a nomination for the Department’s Lifesaving Award for Deputy Jerry Vesperman and Fennimore Police Officer Walt Dresen.

On May 21 at approximately 1:44 a.m., the Sheriff’s Department received a 911 call of a vehicle that crashed into the Big Green River off Grant County T near Dutch Hill Road. The caller said one person was trapped in the vehicle and it was fully submerged in the water.

Within 10 minutes of the call Vesperman and Dresen arrived on scene finding the car in the river, upside down and mostly submerged, with only the tires sticking out of the water.

Dresen and Vesperman entered the river, wading in chest-deep  swiftly moving water. Dresen dove under the water and was able to open the vehicle finding the driver trapped, but alive due to a small air pocket. Vesperman and Dresen were able to free him from the vehicle and get him to the shore, where he was treated by the Boscobel EMS unit and transported to the hospital.

Vesperman and Dresen were nominated for this award by several of their peers, as they went above and beyond entering cold, deep, and swiftly moving water without any assistance, putting the life of the driver above their own.

“They are to be commended for their swift and decisive actions, as they saved the life of the driver of this vehicle,” said Sheriff Nate Dreckman.