Flood waters swamped two residents’ cars on city streets Tuesday and required firefighters to rescue the drivers after their vehicles stalled.

A woman who drove into several feet of water around 3 p.m. at the Little River bridge on Marietta Drive in Givens Addition was forced to roll down her window and climb on top of her car, said Hopkinsville Fire Department Deputy Chief Eric Bleidt. Half of her vehicle was submerged.

The bridge was completely underwater following a 4-inch rainfall late Monday and early Tuesday. The river overflowed its banks to Old Clarksville Pike behind Walgreen Drug Store and along Marietta Drive.

Rescue workers, who were notified after a neighbor called for help, arrived only minutes later. A ladder truck from the Hopkinsville Fire Department extended its 105-foot ladder horizontally to the woman’s car before sending three firefighters down the ladder to retrieve her.

The woman sat on top of her car for nearly an hour before rescue workers brought her back to the fire truck safely.

Slowly and steadily, two firefighters escorted the woman, wearing a safety helmet and life vest, up the ladder toward the truck. Several onlookers gathered at the waiter’s edge and watched the rescue.

Once she reached the fire truck safely, the woman, who had been waiting in frigid temperatures and snow flurries in a short-sleeved T-shirt, was wrapped in a blanket and whisked away to a nearby ambulance. She was evaluated on scene by paramedics and released, Bleidt said. Her name was not released.

A high water sign that sat at the entrance to the bridge where the woman drove into the water had been knocked over.

In a second water rescue Tuesday, rescue personnel arrived at 21st Street and Woodmill Road to find a man stranded in several feet of flowing water.

He was sitting on the top of his car. The water had lodged the car into several trees, preventing it from being swept away any further, Bleidt said.

At first, firefighters contacted the Christian County Rescue Team for assistance when they weren’t able to reach the man with any of their equipment.

“They have some boats and things that we don’t have,” Bleidt said.

However, by the time the rescue team arrived with equipment, the water had gone down enough to allow firefighters to enter the water with life jackets and safety lines and rescue the man who was sitting on top of his car. He was also evaluated by paramedics on the scene and released, Bleidt said.

Although warning barriers had been put up in front of the flood location and were clearly marked, the man drove around the barriers anyway, causing his car to be swept away by the water, Bleidt said.

“With water, the depth isn’t really the issue,” Bleidt said. “It’s the flow. I’ve heard a saying that a car can be swept away with 5 inches of water.”

Source:
KY New Era, March 5, 2008
By Julia Hunter, New Era Staff Writer