Passers-By Rescue Kids in Icy River Crash

At least ten good Samaritans leaped into an icy Utah river to rescue three children trapped in a car that had careened off a road. A defense contractor used a handgun to shoot out a car window and cut a seat belt to help free the kids. The driver had lost control of as he tried to brake around a curve next to the Logan River. He escaped, but his daughter, 9, his 4-year-old son and another girl were trapped as the Honda Accord began sinking. "He was panicked, doing everything he could to get in through the doors, but they wouldn't budge," one rescuer told AP.

The defense contractor reached through the shot-out window, searching for arms and legs, but felt nothing. "I remember thinking to myself, `You're going to see some dead kids, get ready,'" he said. "I've got three of my own and it was going to be an awful start to the New Year." But other passers-by plunged in and up-righted the car and pulled the children out. The boy was no longer breathing, but was revived by bystanders. "Emotions started taking over when he started to breathe," said one. "Everybody started to cheer. Lots of tears and clapping." All the children were doing well yesterday. (More children stories.)