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I drove past the rescue team this morning. I had no idea what was going on at the time.
2 dead in river accident
By Laura Thigpen, Staff Writer
A good samaritan died early today trying to help the driver of a sub-compact Nissan who drove off the Bypass and into the overflow pond under the U.S. 50 bridge at the Daviess-Knox county line. Two of three passengers escaped from the car which went into the water just after 5 a.m. but at least one was presumed drowned, according to Daviess County Sheriff's Detective Ron Morgan, who worked with Indiana Conservation Officers to find the submerged car.
While divers searched for the trapped passenger and car, deputies speculated as to whether a Kentucky man, who stopped to help, believed there was water under the west end of the bridge where he jumped, or just didn't realize how high off the ground he was, said Deputy Bill Dougherty, Daviess County Sheriff's Department.
But the good samaritan, whose name hasn't been released, broke his neck when he leapt off the bridge. He was dead at the scene and his body was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital, Vincennes.
Meanwhile, conservation officers continued searching the muddy pond water for the car and third passenger finally finding it just before 10 a.m. Sheriff Jerry Harbstreit said the car would be dragged from the water and back on to the bridge after conservation department divers spent hours using a pole provided by Washington Township Fire Department volunteers, feeling for metal under the muddy water.
"They're certified search and rescue divers," said Sgt. Tony Sanders, an Indiana Conservation Officer with the Department of Natural Resources. "Unfortunately, we mostly end up being search and recovery instead of recovery."
Which was the story today when the Nissan and unidentified driver were finally found in the water which is not more than 15 feet deep, Sanders said.
"It depends on how the car flipped over and depends on how fast it was going," explained Bill Dougherty, a sheriff's deputy.
According to the passengers, who were taken to Daviess Community Hospital, treated and released, the three were heading to Vincennes to eat breakfast when the car went off the road, Dougherty said. They told officers they don't know if the driver fell asleep but when the car ran off the road, it traveled 700 feet in the grassy median before sailing off the embankment and into the pond that catches overflow from the White River.
The two swam to the west side of the bridge and flagged down a motorist who took them to the BP station on the Bypass and SR 57 where they called for help. County dispatchers received the first call about the accident at 5:10 a.m.
"The third person hasn't been located yet," Dougherty said. "We don't know their names but I was told two are from Pike County and one of them just moved to Washington."
It's also unknown whether drugs or alcohol were involved in the accident.
Several lanes of U.S. 50 were closed following the accident, and eastbound traffic was diverted on to SR 241 through Petersburg for hours this morning while sheriff's deputies and conservation officers, along with city police, emergency medical personnel and Washington Township Volunteer Fire Department volunteers searched for the car and third passenger. One westbound remained open.
2 dead in river accident
By Laura Thigpen, Staff Writer
A good samaritan died early today trying to help the driver of a sub-compact Nissan who drove off the Bypass and into the overflow pond under the U.S. 50 bridge at the Daviess-Knox county line. Two of three passengers escaped from the car which went into the water just after 5 a.m. but at least one was presumed drowned, according to Daviess County Sheriff's Detective Ron Morgan, who worked with Indiana Conservation Officers to find the submerged car.
While divers searched for the trapped passenger and car, deputies speculated as to whether a Kentucky man, who stopped to help, believed there was water under the west end of the bridge where he jumped, or just didn't realize how high off the ground he was, said Deputy Bill Dougherty, Daviess County Sheriff's Department.
But the good samaritan, whose name hasn't been released, broke his neck when he leapt off the bridge. He was dead at the scene and his body was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital, Vincennes.
Meanwhile, conservation officers continued searching the muddy pond water for the car and third passenger finally finding it just before 10 a.m. Sheriff Jerry Harbstreit said the car would be dragged from the water and back on to the bridge after conservation department divers spent hours using a pole provided by Washington Township Fire Department volunteers, feeling for metal under the muddy water.
"They're certified search and rescue divers," said Sgt. Tony Sanders, an Indiana Conservation Officer with the Department of Natural Resources. "Unfortunately, we mostly end up being search and recovery instead of recovery."
Which was the story today when the Nissan and unidentified driver were finally found in the water which is not more than 15 feet deep, Sanders said.
"It depends on how the car flipped over and depends on how fast it was going," explained Bill Dougherty, a sheriff's deputy.
According to the passengers, who were taken to Daviess Community Hospital, treated and released, the three were heading to Vincennes to eat breakfast when the car went off the road, Dougherty said. They told officers they don't know if the driver fell asleep but when the car ran off the road, it traveled 700 feet in the grassy median before sailing off the embankment and into the pond that catches overflow from the White River.
The two swam to the west side of the bridge and flagged down a motorist who took them to the BP station on the Bypass and SR 57 where they called for help. County dispatchers received the first call about the accident at 5:10 a.m.
"The third person hasn't been located yet," Dougherty said. "We don't know their names but I was told two are from Pike County and one of them just moved to Washington."
It's also unknown whether drugs or alcohol were involved in the accident.
Several lanes of U.S. 50 were closed following the accident, and eastbound traffic was diverted on to SR 241 through Petersburg for hours this morning while sheriff's deputies and conservation officers, along with city police, emergency medical personnel and Washington Township Volunteer Fire Department volunteers searched for the car and third passenger. One westbound remained open.
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