Jamie Lynn Tried in Vain to Pull Daughter From Pond

Maddie was trapped underwater by seat belt, safety netting: police
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 7, 2017 5:03 AM CST
Updated Feb 7, 2017 8:00 AM CST
Jamie Lynn Spears Tried to Save Daughter From ATV
Jamie Lynn Spears at the CMA Awards in Nashville, Tenn., on Nov. 2, 2016.   (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Jamie Lynn Spears and her husband were just 100 yards away when Spears' 8-year-old daughter Maddie swerved to avoid a drainage ditch and drove an ATV into a pond on the family's property around 3pm Sunday. "The ATV and child were instantly submerged in the water right before their eyes," says the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Office. Both ran to the pond along with other family members, but were unable to free Maddie, who was "trapped and secured by the seat belt and the ATV's safety netting," police say, per People.

Emergency personnel who arrived about two minutes later were able to pull Maddie from the water, however. She's now in stable but critical condition at a Louisiana hospital. Police, who disputed earlier reports that the accident happened on a hunting trip, are asking people to "keep this family in your constant prayers as they try to cope with this horrible incident." Britney Spears, who is said to be with her family in Louisiana, shared a photo of Maddie on Twitter on Monday, per People. "Need all the wishes and prayers for my niece," she wrote. (More Jamie Lynn Spears stories.)

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