Robert Jaggers:
CLASS OF 1980
Evanston Township High SchoolClass of 1980
Evanston, IL
John Marshall High SchoolClass of 1982
Oklahoma city, OK
Mother Guerin College Preparatory High SchoolClass of 1981
River grove, IL
Chute Junior High SchoolClass of 1976
Evanston, IL
McCutcheon Elementary SchoolClass of 1973
Chicago, IL
Robert's Story
Life
A flood of heroism as the water rushed in
Passers-by brave drainage ditch, pull couple from partially submerged car
By Eric Peterson
Daily Herald Staff Writer
Posted Wednesday, July 20, 2005
Buckled into his upside-down car, his head trapped below the muddy water of the drainage ditch, Tanmoy Guha was certain the end had come for him and his wife beside him.
Robert Jaggers, meanwhile, would happily have lived his whole life never facing a life-or-death decision.
But because of the quick action of Jaggers and others, 30-year-old Guha and his 29-year-old wife Puja Roy are alive and unharmed to enjoy the rest of the summer, the year and their lives together.
At 6:30 p.m. July 8, the Schaumburg couple were in their Toyota Corolla on their way home, heading west on Golf Road and waiting to turn left onto Knollwood Drive.
As the light went yellow, Guha turned in front of an oncoming van, police said. The Toyota was broad-sided, spinning toward the southeast corner and then flipping over  into a drainage ditch filled with water from two big culverts.
Jaggers, 44, was waiting at the light on northbound Knollwood. The collision occurred just in front of him and he saw the now-out-of-control van rolling toward his car.
ÂThis is it! the Schaumburg father of two thought to himself, unable to back out of the way because of another vehicle behind him.
But the van stopped before it reached him. Its driver, 48-year-old Mike Fabry of Hoffman Estates, jumped out, initially confused by not seeing the vehicle heÂd collided with.
Realizing what had happened, he and Jaggers ran to the ditch.
ÂI see that the carÂs in the water, upside down, Jaggers said.
The water smelled foul. Fighting his fear, Jaggers waded into the waist-high ditch. The passenger side of the car was tilted up, and Jaggers helped the distraught Roy out through the window.
"Oh my God, oh my God! she cried.
He breathlessly asked her if there was anyone else in the car...Expand for more
, hoping the answer was no. Because the car was upside down and partially submerged, he wasnÂt sure which side of the car he pulled Roy out of.
She said her husband was still inside.
Fabry dove under the water to reach the other side of the car, burning his arm on the hot underside of the vehicle.
Unable to see anyone else inside the car, Jaggers began to feel inside the vehicle through the broken window but couldnÂt reach anyone. Suddenly a hand grabbed his own with such strength he thought he would be pulled inside.
It was Guha, fighting a losing battle to stay conscious as the filthy water filled his nostrils, mouth and throat.
ÂI was in the water, but I couldnÂt do anything, he said. ÂI was stuck. The water was coming into the car very fast.Â
The rescue duo was then joined by a third passer-by, 38-year-old Brad Willis, who was driving by and saw his friend Jaggers in the water.
Fearful that Jaggers, his children or his pregnant wife were in danger, he stopped and struggled into the ditch as well.
ÂAutomatically, I ran down, Willis said. ÂI thought he was trapped or something.Â
Fabry was trying to break the side windows with a rock. Jaggers finally broke a back window himself, suffering cuts on his hands and arms.
Hoffman Estates police officer Anthony Tenuto and Sgt. Michael Collins arrived and helped the others get the unconscious Guha out of the car. Though the intersection is in Schaumburg, Hoffman Estates police station is close by.
The men in the water strained to partially lift and turn the car sufficiently for Guha to be pulled out through the rear passengerÂs side door.
Roy, meanwhile, was looking on in shock and horror.
ÂI canÂt get the image of her face out of my mind when we pulled him out, Jaggers said.
ÂI thought the guy was dead, Fabry said. ÂWhen I pulled him out of the car, he wasnÂt breathing.Â
At great effort, GuhaÂs body was lifted to the ground above. Hoffman Estates officers Brian
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