Vehicle swept into Scotts Creek; Northshore Dive Team responds for rescue
- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
UPPER LAKE, Calif. – Three men escaped serious injury on Wednesday when the vehicle they were riding in was swept into Scotts Creek as they were trying to cross a flooded roadway.
The incident, which occurred in the area of Highway 20 just west of Saratoga Springs Road, was initially dispatched as a vehicle into the water at 3:40 p.m. Wednesday, according to radio reports.
The responding units from Northshore Fire had trouble finding it at first, and requested that the Northshore Dive Team and Cal Fire also respond, based on scanner traffic.
When firefighters arrived just before 4 p.m., they found one of the men out of the vehicle, trying to rescue the other two, according to California Highway Patrol Officer Joel Skeen.
Skeen said the CHP came on the scene after Northshore Fire, which performed the water rescue.
He said the vehicle involved was a Chevy Silverado pickup.
“The vehicle was swept away in the current and was not located,” Skeen said.
Skeen said none of the vehicle’s three male occupants would provide any identification.
He said two were transported to Sutter Lakeside Hospital on precaution for exposure but did not appear to be injured. The third man denied medical assistance, according to reports from the scene.
Skeen said the men had tried to cross a flooded private driveway on the south side of Highway 20 near Witter Springs Road.
The CHP reminds motorists not to drive across flooded roadways, as they’re more dangerous than they appear, as Wednesday’s incident illustrated.
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