A North Dakota community is reeling tonight after the tragic loss of three Dickinson State University softball players. Krysten Gemar, Ashley Neufeld and Afton Williamson.

They died after their jeep went off a farmers field in rural North Dakota where they were looking at stars. Their jeep plunged into a pond and that's where they were later found all three still trapped inside the submerged vehicle.

Tonight, we revisit a story we brought you one year ago about what you can do to escape a car that's sinking in water.

No one ever think they'll find themselves in a car that's sinking in water.
But the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says 600 people a year drown in their cars.
One year ago, Action News anchor Brian Allen placed himself inside a sinking car on Lake Okoboji to show you how to get out alive.

We partnered with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and Arnolds Park-Okoboji Fire Rescue for this story:
One of the conditions: paramedics on stand-by: before I tried this, they wanted to check my blood pressure, worried the stress could trigger an issue with my heart.
They gave me the green light to go. "It looks fairly warm right now but the temperature of that water out there on lake okoboji...55 degrees!"

To protect me from the chill, i'm wearing a wet suit underneath my clothes.
We're using an old white four door station wagon for our vehicle.
It's guts have been pulled out to not pollute the lake, meaning the car will fill with water fast.
No transmission, no exhaust, no brakes.
Arnolds Park-Okoboji Fire Rescue has three divers working on this: two outside the car, one inside the car with me. His name is Jim Hentges. He's experienced and knows the three steps it takes to get out of a sinking car alive. "First thing don't panic? OK? Then seat belt then it's kind of a patience deal you want to try and go and you can try to open the door if you want but you won't be able to."

Jim says because of the pressure the water will place on the car, I won't be able to open the door until the lake has climbed half way up the drivers side window.

Brian Allen: Halfway up the window?

Jim Hentges: Halfway up the window.

Brian Allen: Phew...

Jim Hentges: I'll be right there.

Brian Allen: I know, I know.

My deal with jim and everyone else working on this, was I would not practice anything. I would go into Lake Okoboji just as surprised and scared as anyone facing this situation would be.
Before i did, Gary Owens with the Iowa DNR gave me a warning: the initial shock of going into the lake could throw my muscles and my breathing out of whack. "What will happen is you'll feel like you're gasping, your breathing will be uncontrolled, your heart may go through some different patterns but it's short lived."

With that, I climbed into the car, locating my emergency air tank, and gave them the green light to push me into the lake.

The water fills with car fast and as it approaches the top of the driver's side window, the door will not open. It does not budge.
At this point i'm getting ready to grab the emergency air tank when the door gives way and I get.
Turns out there's 14 pounds of water pressure per square inch on that car door.
Immediately the paramedics want to see me. my blood pressure is up but not in a danger zone and my body temperature has fallen five degrees.
They give me the green light to go again: this time to show you how to escape with this, a centerpunch: a spring-loaded device which can shatter glass.
I go in again, stay calm, undo my seat belt and press the centerpunch against the glass. It shatters, and I climb out as water pours into the car.

A spring loaded center punch can save your life.
I went shopping tonight at a hardware store and bought this for $4.
You keep it in your car and if you ever need to break out, you press the punch against your window and push, the spring action will break the window and you can climb out.
$4 can make the difference between escaping a sinking car and being trapped.

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