TOOELE COUNTY, Utah, Jan. 2, 2022 (Gephardt Daily) — Crews worked to rescue a female driver Sunday morning after her vehicle rolled off Interstate 80 and ended up in a few feet of water south of the Great Salt Lake.
Sgt. Chris Bishop, Utah Highway Patrol, told Gephardt Daily crews responded to the scene, near mile marker 80 in the West Mountain area, at about 7:19 a.m.
Bishop said details are still being documented, but his understanding was that her vehicle, which he believed to be a passenger car, was resting in two or so feet of water, and the driver was outside of the vehicle, up to her waist in water. Bishop said he was not sure if the woman, who had been the vehicle’s lone occupant, was standing or kneeling in the water.
The woman, whose age has not been confirmed, was holding onto the vehicle, Bishop said.
“They were trying to throw her some ropes, but she couldn’t hold on,” Bishop said. “So fire and medical got there, and they were able to get a little bit further and pull her back in.”
Bishop said the woman was in serious condition, but was conscious and breathing. When asked, he did not confirm she was alert, and said she may have been suffering from hypothermia.
Temperatures had been in the teens, and there was no information as to how long she had been in the water.
It has not been determined what led to the vehicle going into the water.
Gephardt Daily will have more information as details become available.
