A serious two-car accident trapped one driver in her car and sent the other vehicle plummeting into the icy water last night. The accident occurred on Main Street in Monroe near Knollwood Drive shortly after 11 p.m.
Multiple passerbys called 911 reporting a car into the water with victims in the water. First responders found a chaotic scene, with a SUV in the water with a woman clinging to it, and a second vehicle, a sedan, off the road with the driver pinned behind the wheel. The sedan was located about the distance of a city block away, landing within 10 feet of also going into the water on the other side on Main Street.
There were also reports of possibly a second victim submerged in the water, prompting a massive response of volunteer firefighters from the Stepney, Monroe, and Stevenson fire departments along with Monroe police, and EMS.
"We essentially had two separate rescue scenes to handle," said Stepney Fire Chief Mike Klemish.
One crew of firefighters, EMS, and police officers worked to extricate the driver of the sedan, removing the doors and roof, and spreading the dashboard to free her. Meanwhile, a second crew of firefighters, EMS, and police worked to rescue the driver of the SUV from the water and searched the water for other victims. Seven volunteer firefighters donned ice water rescue suits to search the water, while others on land used thermal imaging cameras to check for potential victims.
After about 40 minutes of searching, it was determined that there were no others in the water. Both patients were transported to area hospitals and the extent of their injuries is not known.
"All the first responders worked well together and did an outstanding job, getting both patients loaded into ambulances in a short amount of time", Klemish added.
Main Street was completely closed to traffic for several hours. Monroe police officers are investigating the cause of the crash.
