Emergency officials are credited with rescuing a 3-year-old toddler and her family, who were trapped in a sinking vehicle on U.S. Route 58, early Friday morning.

Around 1 a.m. Friday, Candace Edwards, who was driving a Geo Metro eastbound near the landfill, was struck behind by a 2004 Toyota, said Lt. Debbie George, spokeswoman for the Suffolk Police Department.

The Geo left the roadway, coming to rest in a ditch filled with nearly six feet of water and mud. As water began filling the car, Edwards, her daughter and mother, Demetrice Edwards, were unable to escape from the vehicle.

Water was up to the toddler’s neck and continuing to rise with Officers Tyson Wild and Aaron Huddleston arrived on the scene, George said. The two went into the water and pulled the child from the car’s backseat.

Then, as fire and rescue arrived, Capt. Andre Durham and Firefighter Ray Council joined the officers in the water and helped rescue the two adults, George said.

All three occupants of the Geo were treated and released from Obici Hospital with minor injuries.

Meanwhile, the Toyota driver, Troy Parrish, of the 400 block of Briggs Street, was arrested and charged with driving under the influence and reckless driving, George said.

Additional narcotics charges are possible, pending laboratory analysis, she said.

Parrish is being held in Western Tidewater Regional Jail without bond.

The city’s dive team responded and assisted the towing company with pulling out the submerged vehicle, George said.

allison.williams@suffolknewsherald.com