Elderly couple pulled from flooded car after Florence washes out road in Columbus Co., NC

An elderly couple drove their vehicle around a barricade on NC 87 in Columbus County on Thursday and had to be rescued from the sinking car.

The man driving the car tried to “gun it,” according to Acme-Delco-Riegelwood Fire Chief Steve Camlin and when he did, the vehicle went straight into a flooded area.

When rescuers got there, Camlin said only the driver’s side window of the car was visible. The man was pulled from the car and taken to the hospital by ground transportation.

The woman in the passenger’s side was “near drowning” according to Camlin and was carried to the hospital by Airlink helicopter after she was pulled from the car.  

Camlin said the man and woman were alert and responding to nursing staff. Private citizens, ADR Fire-Rescue and the Illinois Strike Task Force team from Chicago helped in the rescue.

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