Pine County Sheriff's Office rescues driver from submerged vehicle

The Pine County Sheriff's Office rescued a driver from a vehicle submerged in a creek on Saturday, Nov. 8.

According to the citation summary, the incident occurred just before 9:30 p.m. near the intersection of Beroun Crossing Road and Contrast Road.

On Thursday, Sheriff Jeff Nelson explained that dispatch received an auto-call from a vehicle with a crash detection triggered.

"The female driver was reporting that the water was up over her lap," Nelson said. "She couldn't get out of the car, she couldn't get her seatbelt off."

Nelson said the responding deputy went into the water, which he reported was over his neck at one point. He was able to stand up where the vehicle came to rest.

"Ultimately, he ended up breaking out a window, helped her crawl out of the vehicle, and got her back up onto dry land," Nelson said.

The deputy reported signs of impairment from the driver, identified as a 69-year-old Pine City resident in the citation, and a preliminary breath test was recorded at 0.16 BAC.

"Obviously, that's a pretty significant outcome from impaired driving," Nelson said.

The driver was charged with a misdemeanor count of DWI - fourth-degree driving while impaired, and a misdemeanor count of DWI- operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol.

"Fortunately, at the end of the day, no one was hurt," Nelson said. "The deputy had to drive home and change clothes, but he was okay, and she was safely removed from the vehicle. Other than being very cold, they both did okay."