SNOHOMISH — A Snohomish woman in her late 70s was trapped upside for four hours Friday when she lost control of her car down a steep embankment off Connelly Road south of town.
The accident occurred about 10 a.m. when the woman was northbound in the 15300 block of Connelly Road and her four-door sedan went off the road and overturned, said John Hinchcliffe, Snohomish Fire and Rescue battalion chief.
"It was a pretty steep hill in a heavily wooded area, and it was difficult to see her car," he said. "She was hanging by her seat belt, beeping her horn for about four hours."
A resident of a home about 100 yards away heard the horn, discovered the car and called 911.
Snohomish firefighters arrived at about 4 p.m. and found the woman hanging upside down, coherent and uninjured, he said.
"Everyone was surprised she wasn’t hurt. She said she was cold and her left arm hurt, but there were no injuries as far as we could tell," Hinchcliffe said. "She just said she wanted out."
Her husband had reported her missing and showed up with a deputy at the accident scene.
"We had to remove the car door, cut her out of the shoulder harness and slide her onto a backboard," Hinchcliffe said.
They put the backboard into a rescue basket and pulled it up the hill, he said.
"It really was her lucky day," Hinchcliffe said.
Photo by Doug Ramsay
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
