SLANESVILLE, W.Va. — Hampshire County Sheriff Nathan Sions said first responders made a dramatic rescue during Friday’s stormy weather but under normal circumstances the wreck may have not been immediately discovered.
Sions said a women’s car flipped upside down into a creek underneath Gaston Road near Slanesville in wet and foggy conditions. The driver was trapped in the submerged vehicle.
Sions said a few moments later there was a second crash just a few feet away from the first wreck and the driver of the second wreck noticed the first car in the creek and called 911.
Sions told MetroNews Monday that if the second driver had not spotted the first wreck the woman may have not been rescued.
“I mean, it was a miracle that that second crash had occurred, because you couldn’t see the car from the roadway as it was flipped upside down and the lights were underwater,” Sions said.
Firefighters from Slanesville and Paw Paw volunteer fire departments were dispatched at the scene and used straps that were attached to a fire truck, the first responders were able to turn the car over and get the woman out of the vehicle.
Sions said the woman was suffering from hypothermia but is now in stable condition.
While conditions were wet and foggy which may have led to the wreck, Sions said that this is not the first incident to occur in that area.
“We have quite a few crashes on that road at that bridge, so it’s just not a good situation there for us,” Sions added.
He also said that they could not have saved the woman without the area’s teams of trained water rescuers.
“We’re very blessed to have fire departments who do the swift water rescue. In our county, our fire departments are very much prepared for that type of emergency situation.”