First responders in Livermore on Tuesday morning rescued a woman who was trapped in her car for nearly 15 hours in a rushing Del Valle creek.
The woman tried to cross the creek in her truck Monday night, but the force of the water flipped it over. She was able to get out and onto the bottom of the car, where she stayed until a camper found her Tuesday morning.
The camper, Bob Sitzwohl, said he heard her yelling just after 9:30 a.m.
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“So I just started running and I saw her,” Sitzwohl said.
Sitzwohl then ran to a camp attendant’s trailer, who called 911.
Emergency responders from Alameda County Fire and neighboring agencies were still there when a California Highway Patrol helicopter arrived.
It lowered a rescue technician to the woman, who helped her onto a harness.
“I don’t know how she did it in the dark and the cold and the wet,” said CHP pilot Lannis Pope. “But she was able to do that, and she was very happy to see our San Ramon Valley Fire Technician.”
Within two minutes, they had already lifted her safely to colleagues waiting roadside.
“We could tell, just by visual, that she was discolored,” said Alameda County Fire Battalion Fire Chief Kent Carlin. “She was cold — showing signs of hypothermia, but she was making logical sense, which was a good sign to us.”
She was treated for hypothermia, but is expected to make a full recovery — and probably learned a valuable lesson.
“It’s just not a smart idea,” said Pope. “Either don’t cross or try a different way.”
