Emergency personnel freed a 28-year-old New Haven woman and a 28-year-old Imperial man who were trapped in a stolen pickup that ran off Old Hwy. M near Chasteen Lane in Barnhart and landed upside down in a creek this morning, Oct. 25. The two were seriously injured and transported to area hospitals, Antonia Fire Protection District Deputy Chief Bobby Chrisco said.
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office reported that a man who lives in the 5000 block of Scenic View Acres in Imperial told investigators that at about 5:40 a.m. today, he started his 2006 Ford F-350 outside his home, went back inside his house and a short time later heard the pickup’s engine rev before it was stolen.
Deputies arrived at the home at 5:48 a.m. and learned that a man and woman were seen in the pickup as it drove away, the report said.
Antonia Fire got a call at approximately 7:40 a.m. about the accident involving the pickup, Chrisco said.
The deputy who investigated the stolen pickup went to the accident scene and recognized the vehicle lying in the Glaize Creek as the one stolen from Imperial, the Sheriff’s Office reported.
Because the pickup was sinking in mud and creek water was rising around the vehicle, firefighters used their hands to create a dam to divert the water, Chrisco said.
“Due to the compromising position both patients were in, if we started lifting or moving the vehicle, it would compromise the person on the other side,” he said. “(Diverting the water) bought time to initiate the rescue. Otherwise, it would likely have been a recovery.”
Chrisco said the woman was removed from the pickup at about 8:25 a.m. and flown by a helicopter to an area hospital.
The man was freed from the pickup at about 8:40 a.m. and was transported by Rock Township Ambulance to a hospital, Chrisco said.
When deputies searched the pickup, they allegedly found a gun that belonged to the owner of the F-350, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
The Sheriff’s Office will seek charges against the 28-year-old man through the Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office for first-degree tampering, driving with a revoked license and felony possession of a firearm, spokesman Grant Bissell said.
He also said the Sheriff’s Office will seek a charge against the woman through the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office for second-degree tampering.