Mother Hands 7-Year-Old Son to Rescuer Before She Drowns

Caught in currents after accidentally driving into a rain-swollen lake, Victoria Hoffman struggled to keep her head above water while clutching her 7-year-old son.

In a driving rain and growing darkness Thursday night, Hoffman screamed for help. Minutes later, she shoved her son toward a rescuer before she was pulled under the water to her death.

“I hollered, ‘Can you swim?’ and she said, ‘Yes,’ but that she couldn’t because she was holding onto the boy,” said Mike Minyon, who helped grab the child, Gregory, and drag him ashore. “That was the last I saw her.”

Hoffman’s body was found about three hours later.

With the thunderstorm apparently hampering her vision, Hoffman drove past a “No Outlet” sign about a mile from her Audubon home in suburban Philadelphia and into Crystal Lake, which was an estimated 15 feet deep, said Haddon Township police Detective Joseph Kite. The lake usually is no deeper than four feet.

“There was nothing to stop her,” Kite said. “The lake had overrun its banks and the curb was covered. She went right over the curb and then the current swept them in.”

At least 6 1/2 inches of rain fell in the area in the two hours before Hoffman drowned, the National Weather Service reported.

Hoffman, 32, and Gregory were able to get out of the car, but struggled to keep their heads above water while fighting the currents. A neighbor’s shouts alerted Minyon, who lives along the lake.

“I ran down to the lake and I saw two heads bobbing in the water,” Minyon said. “The mother was screaming for help. They were getting swept away, so I ran with them, telling her to keep hollering so we knew exactly where they were.”

Minyon dove in and grabbed a huge branch that was floating in the water. He shoved it toward Hoffman, who then pushed the boy toward the branch and Minyon before slipping under.

Another rescuer, Ralph Angelotti, dove in when he saw Minyon and Gregory and helped pull the boy ashore using the branch.

Gregory was treated for shock at a local hospital and released Friday, police said.