Driver Stood Atop Car Awaiting Rescue from Flooded Roadway

"Turn Around, Don't Drown"

Driver rescued from flood waters on SW Fern Hill Road, Forest Grove. Photo: Forest Grove Fire & Rescue

(FOREST GROVE, Ore.) - Around 1 p.m. Thursday, Forest Grove Firefighters responded to a reported vehicle stuck in flood waters on SW Fern Hill Road, near Taylor Way.

Minutes later, firefighters arrived to find a SUV leaning into a ditch in 3 feet of water. It was verified that a driver was in the vehicle and wasn't injured.

A few minutes later, the rescue boat arrived to travel 500 yards out to the stuck vehicle. By the time the boat was launched into the flooded waters, the vehicle had gone completely under water in a ditch that's estimated to be around 10 feet deep.

When the rescue boat made it to the vehicles location, the driver was standing on top of the vehicle.

Once the rescue boat made it back to the rescue staging point, the driver was evaluated by firefighters and found to not be injured. It is unknown if the driver knowingly went around road closure signs or if some had previously moved them.

After evaluation, Forest Grove Police spoke with the driver and cited them with driving through a closed roadway. The vehicle will remain fully submerged in water until it is safe for a tow company to remove it after the road is no longer flooded.

Thankfully no one was injured in this instance, but it's not always that case.

With unpredictable flood waters, someone can become easily trapped, injured or killed within seconds. To prevent this from happening, remember four easy words when you come upon a flooded roadway. Turn Around, Don't Drown.

Not only does driving through flood waters put you in risk of injury or death, but also risks emergency responders' lives and ties up valuable emergency resources that might be needed for other emergency incidents.

Source: Forest Grove Fire & Rescue