Good Samaritan breaks window to free 3-year-old girl from car sinking in pond

ST. PETERS, Mo. (KMOV/Gray News) - A Missouri mother is extremely grateful to a good Samaritan who rescued her 3-year-old daughter after the family’s SUV rolled into a pond.Austin Collins was dropping his kids off at a school bus stop Thursday morning in St. Peters when he saw an SUV roll from a parking lot, down a hill and into a pond. A 3-year-old girl named Melody was inside at the time.“I just saw a big ol’ splash, and immediately, everyone just ran over and took action,” Collins said.He called 911 then jumped into the pond to help the toddler.“I was honestly holding onto the vehicle to stay afloat,” Collins said. “I didn’t know how deep it was at the time.”Collins said someone handed him a hammer, and he used it to break a window to free Melody. He cut his hand on the broken glass in the process.“I knew that as soon as I grabbed the little girl, she would potentially get cut,” he said. “So, I ended up just taking my hand and clearing as much glass as I could before I grabbed her.”