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Photos by Bob Bartosz
Account by Dennis Williams, Chief of the Stony Creek Volunteer Rescue Squad
An Edgecombe County (NC) woman and her passenger are lucky to be alive after her vehicle ended up submerged in Cokey Swamp in Edgecombe County near Sharpsburg, Nort Carolina.
On Thursday May 25, 2017 at 7 p.m., the Sharpsburg Volunteer Fire Department and the North Carolina Highway Patrol were dispatched to assist Edgecombe County EMS with a vehicle submerged in a creek. Stony Creek Volunteer Rescue Squads Search and Recovery Dive Team was requested to assist with the submerged vehicle.
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A Chevrolet Camaro was traveling North on Old Wilson Road during heavy rains. The vehicle ran off the road, skidding on the wet shoulder, striking a street sign, hitting a large tree, and finally going airborne and ultimately landing in a creek. The vehicle sank in nine feet of water, facing west.
Upon arrival, crews found a Chevrolet Camaro completely submerged with the hatch back open and the two T-top glasses broken out yet upright, with only the edge of the hatch back above the waterline. Stony Creek deployed two divers in the water, with one back up rescue diver standing by for search and sweep of the water and surrounding swamp bottom.
While the search and recovery efforts were going on, the area was under a severe thunder and tornado warning. After checking the submerged vehicle and surrounding swamp, no bodies were located. The divers took J hooks and hooked them into the front and rear tire rims for Coastal Wrecker to remove the Chevrolet from the swamp. Once the vehicle was removed, our divers did another search and sweep of the swamp area, still not locating anyone.
Later, the driver and passenger were found at home with no injuries. Investigations are still ongoing with the North Carolina Highway Patrol. There were about 35 responders on scene from Edgecombe County EMS, North Carolina Highway Patrol, and Edgecombe County Sheriff Department. Sharpsburg Volunteer Fire Department and Stony Creek Volunteer Rescue Squad are Nash County-based departments.
