A passer-by helped to save a baby girl when he crawled into a car that was upside-down in water, US police said.

The accident happened in Maine on Monday when Stephen McGouldrick lost control of his SUV on an icy road and rolled the vehicle down an embankment into two and a half feet of water.

Police say Leo Moody, of Kingman, crawled into the SUV and used a knife to cut the straps off a car seat before pulling the girl out.

The infant was submerged for a short time and was not breathing and unresponsive when pulled free.

Another passer-by, Wade Shorey, initiated CPR, successfully resuscitating the girl. The infant was taken to Eastern Maine Medical Centre for observation.

Mr McGouldrick and two other passengers suffered minor injuries in the incident.

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