Post by Admin on Jul 20, 2015 17:49:55 GMT 12
Canberra man has lucky escape after being caught in Angle Crossing Road floodwaters in ACT's west
By Clarissa Thorpe, Saturday July 18, 2015 - 15:29 EST
A group of kayakers came to the rescue of an elderly man after his ute got stuck in floodwaters in Canberra's west. - Audience submitted
An elderly man has had a lucky escape after driving his car into floodwaters at Angle Crossing Road in Canberra's west.
The 75-year-old driver from Isabella Plains ignored two flood warning safety signs and drove into moving floodwaters about 1.5 metres deep this morning, police said.
He managed to exit through the passenger side window and scramble onto the cab of his ute.
The rural back road was fairly busy this morning, as an earlier accident on the Monaro Highway had blocked the normal route to Cooma.
Canberra resident Mike Wagstaff said he took Angle Crossing Road to try to get his kids to a football match at Jindabyne, but stopped nearby to check out the river after seeing flood warning signs posted.
Mr Wagstaff said he was amazed to see a man drive straight into the floodwaters without pausing to look.
"Very quickly it became clear that the water was too deep and the current caught the car and made it drift for a while," he said.
"It stopped a short distance away next to a depth measure which said it was 1.6 metres deep.
"He got out a window, then on to the roof until rescuers could arrive."
A group of kayakers from organisation Outward Bound were in the area preparing for a Saturday paddle.
"They happened to all be in wet suits and dry suits and decided to inflate their boat and go out to pick him up," Mr Wagstaff said.
"So by the time emergency services arrived, he was almost back at the shore."
The kayakers were able to help rangers by attaching their winch to the truck, pulling it from the water.
The rescued man was described as wet but unharmed.
Police are reminding motorists to obey all safety warnings and to not drive through flood waters.
- ABC
© ABC 2015
By Clarissa Thorpe, Saturday July 18, 2015 - 15:29 EST
A group of kayakers came to the rescue of an elderly man after his ute got stuck in floodwaters in Canberra's west. - Audience submitted
An elderly man has had a lucky escape after driving his car into floodwaters at Angle Crossing Road in Canberra's west.
The 75-year-old driver from Isabella Plains ignored two flood warning safety signs and drove into moving floodwaters about 1.5 metres deep this morning, police said.
He managed to exit through the passenger side window and scramble onto the cab of his ute.
The rural back road was fairly busy this morning, as an earlier accident on the Monaro Highway had blocked the normal route to Cooma.
Canberra resident Mike Wagstaff said he took Angle Crossing Road to try to get his kids to a football match at Jindabyne, but stopped nearby to check out the river after seeing flood warning signs posted.
Mr Wagstaff said he was amazed to see a man drive straight into the floodwaters without pausing to look.
"Very quickly it became clear that the water was too deep and the current caught the car and made it drift for a while," he said.
"It stopped a short distance away next to a depth measure which said it was 1.6 metres deep.
"He got out a window, then on to the roof until rescuers could arrive."
A group of kayakers from organisation Outward Bound were in the area preparing for a Saturday paddle.
"They happened to all be in wet suits and dry suits and decided to inflate their boat and go out to pick him up," Mr Wagstaff said.
"So by the time emergency services arrived, he was almost back at the shore."
The kayakers were able to help rangers by attaching their winch to the truck, pulling it from the water.
The rescued man was described as wet but unharmed.
Police are reminding motorists to obey all safety warnings and to not drive through flood waters.
- ABC
© ABC 2015