LAWRENCEVILLE - A total of seven Gwinnett County first responders came to the rescue of a woman stranded in rushing flood waters in the pre-dawn hours Tuesday morning.
Authorities say they received a 911 call about 3:50 a.m. from an adult female saying that her adult daughter was in distress in flash flood waters. At the same time, the daughter was calling 911, saying that she was clinging to a tree on Oak Road in unincorporated Lawrenceville
Police said when they arrived at the scene, they realized that the victim had disregarded a "Road Closed" sign and traffic barrels and had driven her vehicle into flood waters. The victim had exited her vehicle, but became trapped by the quick-flowing water and was left holding on to a tree.
Gwinnett police relayed the following chain of events in the woman's rescue:
"In response to the 911 calls, Gwinnett County Police and Fire / Emergency personnel were immediately dispatched to the vicinity. Police officers on routine patrol in the area and officers from the Department' s Crime Suppression Unit responded to this call in conjunction with Fire / Emergency Services Personnel. Within minutes police and fire personnel and their resources arrived at the given location.
"The responding police officers located the victim and her van within minutes of their arrival. The van was almost completely submerged in flowing water, approximately 100 yards off Oak Road, near Hutchins Road. The victim was screaming for help and observed hanging on to a tree close to her submerged van. Determining the need for immediate action, Police Sergeant J. Redmond removed his utility belt, uniform shirt and ballistic vest and entered the water. He swam through flowing water with strong currents to reach the victim. Sergeant Redmond positioned himself on top of the victim's submerged van and was then able to reach her. He found her visibly distraught, but free of any obvious injuries.
" While Sergeant Redmond tended to the victim, Officer S. Starnes also entered the flood waters and swam to the victim. The flood water continued to rise and the current threatened to dislodge the van from its temporary rest. Police Officers E. Gurley and J. Tait each donned life jackets and entered the water, making their way to the van to assist. A life jacket was placed onto the victim to further ensure her safety. Officer Starnes made his way back to the waters edge and retrieved a rope from Fire Department Personnel. Making two attempts to get back through the flowing water with the rope, Officer Starnes again reached the van.
"Police Officers P. Dunning and N. Dass assisted at the waters edge, while Officer Starnes traversed the flood water again, utilizing the rope to get the victim to dry ground. At approximately 4:33 AM, the victim was extricated from the flood waters and turned over to Gwinnett County Fire / Emergency personnel for EMS treatment and assessment. Once it was apparent that the victim was safe, Police Officer J. Dickerson donned a life jacket and assisted the now fatigued Officers back to safety."
Authorities have not released the identity of the victim.
Thursday
October 17th, 2024
3:21PM
