Rescued senior's condition upgraded to fair

A 73-year-old Geary woman's condition has been upgraded to fair three days after she was pulled from her partially submerged car that was in the icy St. John River.

Shirley Foster was rescued from her sinking car early on Sunday morning by three Fredericton police officers.

The car she was driving went down an embankment in Maugerville, skidded across the ice before landing in open water.

According to the Fredericton Police, Foster called 911 at 7:50 a.m. on Sunday and told the operator her car had skidded off the highway, down an embankment onto the ice in Maugerville and was beginning to sink.

The RCMP and Fredericton Police were both called to help Foster.

Three Fredericton Police officers were the first to get to the accident scene.

When the police officers pulled Foster from her car, she was not breathing. The rescuers conducted CPR on Foster once she was pulled out of the car.

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Foster was initially listed in critical condition when she arrived at the hospital on Sunday.

RCMP are continuing their investigation into the accident.  The police have said slippery road conditions may have been a factor.

The three rescuing officers were praised on Monday by Fredericton Police Chief Barry MacKnight.

"They certainly went above and beyond the call of duty," MacKnight said. "That is something we've seen regularly with our staff. It seems pretty obvious that our people were able to get to the right place at the right time.