Two almost calls last night

[Gary D.]

First one; I just got out of a 9 hour jury trial and an only in the car for about an hour when dispatch puts out a two-Jon Boat accident on the big lake with one boat missing. A storm has just hit hard and Pend Oreille is not a good place to be on a small ship let alone a Jon Boat in a storm. She can kick up 20-30’ confused seas.

I buy the call and advise dispatch to get Marine and the Dive Team enroute. I working my way through traffic in a heavy rain with sticker tires less than an hour old. Trust me they are no longer “Sticker “ tires. ;^)

I make it about 10 miles when dispatch calls and says one boat is missing but there was no accident. They were coming from Lakeview towards Bayview together and only one made it. Crap, that end of the lake runs up to 1000’ deep. Some places are almost that only deep 100’ from shore.

So the Marine Sgt. plays a hunch. He tells dispatch to call the Lakeview bar. Sure enough, one boat went across in the storm while the other went back to The Happy Hermit and was battling the heavy seas on a barstool.

So now I wipe off the sweat and open the Adrenaline dump valve to get rid of the excess.

Then this morning we get a car in Coeur d’Alene Lake at Cougar bay. The vehicle ended up turned turtle but the occupant(s) got out and will survive.

Hummmmmm, is this another fast season opener that will slow down after a fast start or will it continue?

We had a very quiet summer compared to the norm. Quiet is a good thing.

Gary D.

 

[BabyDuck]

well, you're jinxed now. never ever use the 'q' word!!

 

[Greg D.]

quiet is very good! damn now I said it too, double jinx

 

[Gary D.]

well, you're jinxed now. never ever use the 'q' word!!

Olny legal way I know to drum up business.

I just read the accident report and talked to the investigating Deputy about the vehicle in the lake this morning.

It wasn’t actually in the lake but the wetlands on the NW side. Had the driver and lone occupant been wearing a seatbelt, even if we would have already been on scene suited up, he would have died. This was one of those freak accidents.

Vehicle loses control on the downgrade into CdA which was very icy. It goes off the roadway and rolls over into the wetlands and wedges itself in a small channel in 8’ deep water. In the rolling over process the driver and lone occupant is ejected from the vehicle.

Simple shallow Rescue/Recovery? NOT!

The vehicle was the same width as the channel it rolled into. Both sides were tight against a solid bank from the surface to the bottom. Ah, your thinking the front and rear glass will give access to the vehicle’s interior. NOPE. It went into a hole, which put a solid wall against those ends as well. In a nutshell the vehicle’s top half went into a hole designed to fit it like a glove.

Talk about a guardian angel being with him. Other than 2 broken legs and a broken back he’s going to be OK.

Gary D.

 

[Greg D.]

My brother got into one of those kind of accidents, he wasnt wearing his belt and went off the road, into a drainage ditch, hit and was thrown out an the trck rolled slammed into the bank completly flatening the drivers side of the cab, had he been in it he woulda gor smashed too

PS Gary I will have to call you tomorrow, I fell asleep in the couch and I dont call ayone after nine unless I HAVE to.

 

[Kayla]

It was a really quiet summer around here too... which I'm afraid usually ends up meaning that its going to be a LONG winter. Flood season is upon us here, and count our blessings, we've been ok so far. Keeps raining like this though, theres going to be trouble. Anyway, glad to hear that things didn't get too crazy for ya. Good luck this winter!

Kayla

 

[Gary D.]

It was a really quiet summer around here too... which I'm afraid usually ends up meaning that its going to be a LONG winter. Flood season is upon us here, and count our blessings, we've been ok so far. Keeps raining like this though, theres going to be trouble. Anyway, glad to hear that things didn't get too crazy for ya. Good luck this winter!

Kayla

Where did you hide all summer?

Gary D.