Doctors are still shaking their heads over the case of a Utah baby who survived 14 hours trapped in a car half-submerged in an icy river.
Rescuers found the toddler still strapped into her car seat in her mother’s car, one day after the vehicle flipped into a frigid Utah river,
CNN reports.
Lily's mother, Lynn Jennifer Groesbeck, died in the crash.
Doctors say Lily was secured in her car seat, which was properly attached — factors that might have accounted for her remarkable survival. Even though she was upside down, her body remained above the frigid water.
Doctors say it is easier to survive cold temperatures if the body remains dry. In fact, cold temperatures may have even helped the girl survive, Barbara Walsh, M.D., with the University of Massachusetts Medical School, told CNN.
"She's going to have a lower heart rate. She's going to have a lower metabolism. She's going to need less sugar," Dr. Walsh said. "It's almost like the body is sort of knowing that it needs to shut down to protect itself."
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