Driver rescued by good Samaritans after truck plunges into river

 

Passers-by rescued the driver of a pickup truck that plunged off Highway 20 near Milepost 49, east of Sweet Home, Saturday morning, March 22.

According to the Sweet Home Fire and Ambulance District and Oregon State Police, the Ford F-250, driven by Kaitlyn Danielle Watts, 28, of Sweet Home, was eastbound on the highway when it plummeted off the pavement and approximately 30 feet down the riverbank. 

The truck hit a tree and landed on its wheels roughly 6 feet from the riverbank, with chest-high water rushing into the vehicle. The vehicle sustained heavy damage to the passenger compartment and was in an unstable position, SHFAD said.

According to SHFAD, which was dispatched to the scene at approximately 11:23 a.m., early reports indicated Watts was pinned in the vehicle with water at head level.

Joe Pedersen of Sweet Home, who was driving by with his wife, arrived at the scene seconds after the crash, he said. 

“We just seen the trail of the tracks that are coming through the dirt, with steam rising off where the sun was,” he said. “It looked like someone went off there, so we pulled off in the first spot we got to.” 

A nurse also stopped, right after they did, he said. 

“They told us to tie it off, so we did that,” Pedersen said. “And then we just waited.” 

At that point, two off-duty firefighters, Russell Deboodt from Crook County Fire and Rescue and Riley Wood of the Ochoco Forest Service, came upon the wreck and determined that Watts was in a life-threatening situation. They quickly jumped into action, freeing the victim from the vehicle and ultimately getting the driver safely to shore, a SHFAD statement said.

They were passing by with their families, on a vacation trip, when they saw the accident. 

“That’s what saved her, I think, because she was in there with her arm sticking out the window, like you’re driving on a Sunday afternoon,” Pedersen said. 

He said one firefighter, later identified as Wood, perched on the truck’s hood and broke off the steering wheel and other impediments in the cab so they could extract Watts.

The SHFAD statement credited the good Samaritans with helping to save the driver. The off-duty firefighters declined to speak with The New Era. 

“While we don’t normally encourage bystanders to put themselves in harm’s way, these rescuers were able to use their training and knowledge to make a significant difference in the victim’s outcome,” the SHFAD statement said. 

“These individuals selflessly risked their own safety to prevent the victim from further harm, ensuring that the victim was not swept down the river and helping to prevent hypothermia from prolonged exposure to the frigid water.”

SHFAD personnel arrived and “packaged” the victim, then set up a rope system to bring Watts safely to the roadway and the waiting ambulance. She appeared to have non-life threatening injuries and was transported to Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital for further evaluation, SHFAD said. 

Responding crews from Sweet Home Fire included a rescue unit, medic unit, support unit and two  command vehicles with a total of four on-duty personnel and an additional nine off-duty staffers responding from home.

The vehicle was later recovered by AA towing, with assistance from members of an LCSO dive team.

 

 

 

 

Videos courtesy of Lindsay Fitchett