Driver rescued from car in middle of river
Published: November 5, 2005
The driver of an SUV that crashed into the Pilchuck River on Friday was plucked out of his vehicle by rescue workers after waiting nearly two hours as the vehicle slipped deeper into the fast-moving, cold water, fire officials said.
Water was up to the window when a Snohomish County sheriff’s boat arrived.
Battalion Chief Craig Heike of Fire District 4 said the driver, a 32-year-old man from Snohomish whose name was not immediately released, apparently suffered a medical problem that caused him to drive into the river. The car left South Machias Road, drove across a field, through thick brush and across a bike trail before splashing into the water.
The accident was witnessed and phoned in about 6:15 a.m. by the driver behind the car. Responding emergency workers found the SUV stuck in the middle of the shallow river about a half-mile downstream from where it went in.
Rich Niebush, spokesman for the Snohomish County sheriff, said that at its deepest the Pilchuck River is only four or five feet deep, at the beginning of Washington’s rainy season.
Niebush said investigators believe neither drugs nor alcohol were involved in the incident. The man was taken to a local hospital for treatment, but Niebush would not report his condition nor the specifics of the medical problem that led to the accident.
Neibush said the trickiest part of the rescue was persuading the man to stay in his vehicle until rescuers could get to him. Their main concern was that he would leave his car and get caught in the current, which was so swift it prevented rescuers from walking into the river to help him.
Heike said the man was “fine” and concerned about trying to get his vehicle out of the river.
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