Woman rescued after car plunges into creek

Local News

Related Photos

RESCUE: Crews from two local tow truck companies helped haul an SUV out of Ellicott Creek in the City of Tonawanda on Friday morning. Police and fire crews helped rescue the woman, whose Chevrolet Equinox splashed into the water after the brakes failed as she was pulling into an auto repair shop parking lot. Don Schwartz
RESCUE: Crews from two local tow truck companies helped haul an SUV out of Ellicott Creek in the City of Tonawanda on Friday morning. Police and fire crews helped rescue the woman, whose Chevrolet Equinox splashed into the water after the brakes failed as she was pulling into an auto repair shop parking lot. Don Schwartz

August 20, 2010

By Dave Hill Lockport Union-Sun & Journal The Lockport Union-Sun %26 Journal Fri Aug 20, 2010, 11:43 PM EDT

CITY OF TONAWANDA — A woman perched atop a partially submerged sport utility vehicle floating slightly down Ellicott Creek.

It’s an odd sight, to be sure, but that’s exactly what happened Friday morning as City of Tonawanda police and fire personnel were forced into quick action to save a woman whose SUV had gone into the creek after the vehicle’s brakes failed.

Interestingly, the woman was on her way to an auto repair shop on Young Street to have the brakes fixed on her Chevrolet Equinox.

As she pulled into the driveway, though, the brakes failed. The SUV then traveled over some railroad ties in the back of the parking lot and rolled down a slight embankment before splashing into Ellicott Creek.

The woman was able to open a window and climb out onto the roof of the SUV, where she calmly waited until rescuers arrived moments later. Fire officials received the call at 9:02 a.m., after workers from the Tonawanda DPW garage across the creek noticed the unusual scene.

When crews arrived, the SUV was floating down the middle of the creek, making it impossible for rescuers to reach the woman without a rope. Rescuers went to Plan B, which involved swimming out to the stranded vehicle and attempting to tie a rope around it so that it could be hauled to shore.

Crews had to open the hatch to do it, and at that point water began rushing in, causing the SUV to sink quickly, according to Thomas Wolfe, a fire department captain and training officer who went out to rescue the woman. Crews pulled her off the vehicle just as it began to sink.

“By the time it ended, the car was completely under water,” Wolfe said. “As it sank, it flipped over and settled at the bottom of the creek on its roof.”

Fire Chief Charles Stuart said that part of the creek is approximately 12 to 16 feet deep. “The lucky thing about it is that the SUV stayed afloat long enough for her to get out,” he said. “You don’t know how long you have, because those things do sink. It was kind of a crazy thing, but the guys did a nice job with it.”

Two tow truck companies were called in to haul the vehicle out of the water. The woman was not injured in the incident. “She was as calm as could be for what she went through,” Wolfe said, adding that the rescue effort “worked just like it should have.”

Wolfe suffered some minor bruising during the rescue, Stuart said.

As for preparing for such a bizarre rescue effort, Wolfe said fire department members train for rescuing people trapped in swift moving water.

“But to say, ‘Today we’re going to go out and train for a car floating down the creek’ — no, we don’t do that,” Wolfe said.

Contact reporter David J. Hill at 693-1000, ext. 115.

Text Only

Local News

Municipalities take wait-and-see approach on SPCA funding
The City and Town of Lockport are each withholding payments to the Niagara SPCA, while other Eastern Niagara County towns are taking a wait-and-see approach.

February 7, 2012 1 Photo 2 Stories
Rocky II
Friends of Deputy Craig Beiter of the Niagara County Sheriff’s Department plan a benefit on Feb. 26 to raise money to buy and train a new dog for the K-9 Unit.
Beiter’s German shepherd, Deputy Rocky, was killed while on duty in December, and the sheriff’s department is close to getting a replacement.

February 6, 2012 1 Photo 2 Stories
Basket Factory closes
The Basket Factory has gone out of business.
The owners, Julie Thompson Riegle and Dawn Thompson, made the difficult decision last Monday and put the sign on the door Tuesday.

February 6, 2012
No snow is no problem
Unseasonably warm weather didn’t keep Roy-Hart Winterfest from being a fun day for the families who came out to Roy-Hart Elementary School on Saturday.
More than 500 people attended the third annual festivities, which Gasport Lions Club officials said was a big increase from last year. The halls of Roy-Hart Elementary were filled with vendors, programs and movement as excited children rushed from one activity to another.

February 6, 2012
Shovel-ready park has perks
At first glance, the big, orange road sign announcing vacant property on Lockport Road as a “shovel ready certified” building site seems a bit gratuitous.
To companies looking for new places to launch a business, it’s not. The sign in their eyes is a welcome mat, for in three words a community pronounced itself ready, willing and able to make a deal quickly.

February 3, 2012 1 Photo
Roy-Hart to play the big stage
A group of local students will be performing this month at Kleinhans Music Hall just before a BPO concert.
The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra will welcome the Royalton-Hartland High School Mixed Chorus as part of the BPO’s Community Spotlight program on Feb. 19 at Kleinhans in Buffalo. The chorus will perform under the direction of Carolyn Unitas Roos and accompanied by Janice McKinney.

February 3, 2012
Former NFTA cop sentenced
A former Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority police officer will spend six years on probation for sending a sexually explicit photo to a teenage girl, a girl he later had a sexual encounter with.
In addition, John W. Ingham will spend 25 weekends in the service of the Niagara County Sheriff’s Office Work Program. Ingham was sentenced Thursday by State Supreme Court Justice Richard C. Kloch, Sr. Ingham will also register as a sex offender.

February 3, 2012
Speakers address SPCA contract
Animal rescue volunteers want the City of Lockport to hit the SPCA of Niagara where it hurts — in the pocketbook — and help force reform of the troubled animal welfare organization.
Volunteers from multiple small, private rescue groups, and the SPCA itself, descended on the Common Council Wednesday to talk about the city’s ongoing involvement with SPCA.

February 2, 2012 4 Photos
Liberty Tire cited for 'multiple' violations
The City of Lockport will require Liberty Tire Recycling to obtain an operating permit in order to avoid being declared a hazard.

February 2, 2012
Instant millionaire
Paul Schneider had just gotten off the phone with his girlfriend when he called her back with some breaking news.
“She was teasing me and said, ‘so you hung up the phone with me to scratch your scratch offs?’” Schneider said. “And I said, ‘It’s a good thing I did because I won a million dollars.’”

February 1, 2012 1 Photo
More Local News Headlines

Local News

Search Results

Related Photos

Woman rescued after car plunges into creek

Site Map

Contact Us