2 rescued from car on flooded road in Summit Township
SUMMIT TWP — A rescue team pulled both occupants out of a car that was stranded on a flooded section of Oneida Valley Road Wednesday, April 3.
Neither occupant of the vehicle, a silver compact sedan, was injured, although the driver was taken to Butler Memorial Hospital for observation.
The incident was first reported just after 1:30 p.m., and took place on the stretch of Route 38 that runs parallel to the Connoquenessing Creek near its intersection Henricks Road. This followed over a day of heavy rain and flooding in many parts of Western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio.
Butler County’s Water Rescue Team 300 was called in to perform the rescue.
“Two water rescue technicians walked our Super Puma boat out and put the victims in life jackets,” said Lt. Travis Riesmeyer of the Unionville Volunteer Fire Department. “We assisted them into the boat and retrieved them back to the shoreline.”
Along with Unionville Volunteer Fire Department and the Water Rescue Team, assistance was rendered by the Herman Volunteer Fire Department and the East Butler Volunteer Fire Company.
According to Riesmeyer, this section of road is prone to flooding, and he estimated that the water was 2 to 2.5 feet deep at the time of the incident. Water could also be seen dangerously close to cresting over a nearby bridge over the creek.
“This is a pretty common rescue area,” Riesmeyer said.
While the rescue was taking place, a section of Oneida Valley Road was closed from Vin & Joe’s Inn to Mahood Road.
Riesmeyer says that the car will be left until the waters recede, at which point it will be towed to a local yard.
The state Department of Transportation advises drivers not to drive through floodwaters.
