Teen rescued from freezing river after telling Siri to call emergency services

Gael Salcedo was driving to college when he lost control of his car on ice and plunged into icy waters

A teenager whose car plunged into a freezing river was saved after asking Siri to call for help.

Gael Salcedo was driving to college when he hit a patch of ice and lost control of his Jeep, plummeting into the Winnebago River, in Iowa.

Fearing his car would sink, the 18-year-old rolled down his window but could not find his phone to call for help.

The teenager said he thought he was going to die and shouted “Hey Siri, call 911” in the hope his phone would call emergency services.

He told KIMT3: “I turned to the right and everything just went blurry, I didn’t know where I was going.

“I didn’t know what to do, I was just thinking in my head ‘I think I’m going to die’.

“I lost my phone and since I couldn’t find it I was like ‘Hey Siri, call 911’ and once Siri called that’s when I found my phone finally.”

Firefighters quickly arrived but the door on the driver’s side was pinned shut by the current and the freezing water was rapidly rising.

Lieutenant Craig Warner, of Mason City Fire Department, said he told Mr Salcedo, "You’re going to have to walk out, I’ll be right there with you holding on every step of the way”.

Gael Salcedo, 18, who was rescued from a freezing river in Iowa, US, after telling Siri to call emergency services because he had lost his phone (KIMT3)

The teenager said his hands were freezing by this point and he had lost the feeling in his legs.

“I was struggling a lot and the water was just so strong, so I kept tripping and I had the guy help me up a bunch of times and I used all my strength to get out of the water,” he said.

Mr Salcedo was taken to hospital where he was treated for shock and released a couple of hours later.

He thanked Mr Warner for risking his life to save him and all of the first responders who helped rescue him.