Rescuers pull unconscious girl from car submerged in Stillaguamish River

Published 10:33 am Thursday, April 16, 2009

See an update to this story posted at 10:03 a.m. Thursday.

STANWOOD — Rescuers rushed into the cold and muddy waters of the Stillaguamish River on Wednesday morning to help a young woman who was unconscious and trapped in a submerged car.

The high school student was brought to the river bank, where Stanwood Police Chief Ty Trennary and Sgt. Barry Ruchty performed CPR and successfully resuscitated the teenager, officials said.

“They did a heroic job of saving the girl,” North County Fire-EMS Battalion Chief Christian Davis said. “This isn’t a common rescue.”

Snohomish County sheriff’s deputies Brian Odenborg and Steve Gordon were joined by firefighters and a bystander to go after the girl in the slough.

“Had it not been for them, this young lady would not have a fighting chance of survival,” sheriff’s Lt. Rodney Rochon said.

The teen was rushed to Providence Regional Medical Center Everett. By late morning, she was listed in critical condition, Davis said.

The injured student attends Lincoln Hill High School, an alternative high school, said Cathy Britt, a spokeswoman for the Stanwood-Camano School District.

A North County firefighter also was hospitalized after he suffered hypothermia from exposure to the 47-degree river water.

Crash detectives were trying to determine what caused the teen’s red Dodge Neon to veer off Marine Drive NW just before 9 a.m., Rochon said.

“All we got is the car going down the road and into the river. As to why, we have no clue,” he said.

Witnesses reported a possible second person in the car. Dive teams and crews in the sheriff’s helicopter searched the river and couldn’t find anyone else. Officials believed the girl likely was alone.

The county’s dive team had been preparing to spend Wednesday training off Hat Island when the call for help was signaled for the Stanwood rescue.

Instead of training in Puget Sound, they spent the morning at a real rescue in the mud, Rochon said.

As a crowd of people watched from the opposite river bank, a tow truck pulled the muddy car from the water. The roof was smashed but the keys still dangled from the ignition.

Jean Dobbins was taking her son to school when she saw tire marks across the road. A single wheel of an upturned car poked through the river’s surface.

She stopped to watch the emergency crews work.

“It was tragic,” she said. “It was very saddening because there are so many accidents on that road already.”

Dobbins said she wished the best for the girl’s speedy recovery.

“I pray for her family and her,” she said.

Jackson Holtz: 425-339-3437, jholtz@heraldnet.com.