Video shows frantic rescue of miracle baby in icy Utah river

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Sunday, March 15, 2015
Video shows frantic rescue of miracle baby in icy river
Police have released body-camera footage that shows the frantic rescue of an 18-month-old Utah girl from a car that had crashed into a frigid river 14 hours earlier.

SPANISH FORK, Utah -- Police have released body-camera footage that shows the frantic rescue of an 18-month-old Utah girl from a car that had crashed into a frigid river 14 hours earlier.

The rescue began with a frantic effort to get inside the car that was upside down in the Spanish Fork River about 50 miles south of Salt Lake City. The rescue quickly turned even more urgent when they realized a baby was trapped inside.

Lily Groesbeck was still strapped in, upside down and unseen, until a fisherman discovered the wreck on March 7, a day after it hit a cement barrier on a bridge and careened into the river in Spanish Fork.

The 18-month-old's mother, 25-year-old Lynn Jennifer Groesbeck, did not survive. Her funeral was held on Saturday.

Jennifer Groesbeck, 25, is pictured with her 18-month-old daughter Lily.

The baby was barely alive as she was pulled to safety.

In the video you can hear a police officer yelling, "C'mon baby! She's definitely hypothermic, she's freezing!"

Then inside the ambulance, paramedics and Officer Brian DeWitt used his fingers to perform CPR, desperately working to save Lily's life.

In the video you can hear a woman saying, "C'mon sweetheart, we need to check her pulse, we need to get her warm," as the officer asks, "You getting a pulse? I don't feel anything."

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The girl, who was initially listed in critical condition, was released from the hospital Wednesday.

Lily is now bouncing back and playing with her father. She's a miracle baby who's earned the title of survivor.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.