December 9, 2011 - On Wednesday (Dec. 7), a number of Houston police officers had only moments to act in order to save a woman's life.

HPD Sergeant R. Calderon and Officers B. Escamilla, J. Penn and R. Ramirez were working an extra job in downtown Houston when the woman drove through a guardrail and crashed into the bayou below.

"We heard a crash and someone yelled that the car was in the bayou," said HPD Officer Escamilla.

"There wasn't a whole lot of time to think," said HPD Sergeant R. Calderon. "The only thing we could do was jump in the water because, in my mind, she'd only been there for a few minutes and could be saved," he added.

Sergeant Calderon and Officer Ramirez both dove in the cold, murky water to rescue the woman. Because of the thick mud on the bank, they then handed her to the officers who were waiting along the bank. The officers then immediately began performing CPR.

The woman, 41, was transported to a Houston hospital and at last report was responsive and conscious.

"It's all about teamwork," said Officer Ramirez. "We did what we were trained to do as first responders. There was no time for waiting," he added.