Police say it was just before 8 a.m. when 911 dispatchers began receiving calls that car had driven into the community pool at the Racquet Club Estates in northern Bellevue.

When police and firefighters arrived, they found the 20-year-old driver was still trapped inside the car. Firefighters dove into the water and broke the car's sunroof and rear window with their fire axes and pulled the woman to safety.

Police say it all began when the woman was interested in buying a car from a friend and went to take a test drive. But when she started the car, she somehow mistook the gas for the brake. The car jumped a curb and bolted out of the parking lot. It drove over a phone utility box, glanced off a tree, then crashed through an 8-foot fence and into the pool.

The woman was unable to figure out how to open the car windows to escape and was trapped in the sinking car. A resident of the complex had attempted to rescue the woman by breaking a window with a baseball bat, but was unsuccessful.

Redmond firefighters, who were the first on the scene, got on top of the car as it was sinking and broke out the sunroof and rear window with their fire axes and pulled the woman out through the sunroof.

Witnesses say the woman’s shrinking air pocket as about 8” when she was pulled to safety.

The woman was taken to Overlake Medical Center for possible hypothermia, as it was chilly outside and the pool was unheated.

The woman only had a learner's permit, but no charges will be filed since she did not drive on a public roadway.

The car was uninsured.