Oakley, Ohio Crews Rescue Driver From SUV In Creek

June 5, 2006
The rescued man is undergoing treatment at a local hospital, but is expected to recover fully.

A swift-water rescue team has pulled a driver out of a sport utility vehicle partially submerged in a storm-swollen creek.

The SUV skidded off the ramp from Ridge Avenue to southbound Interstate 71 and down into Duck Creek shortly before noon. The driver, Ali Roberson, 36, was reported to be okay, but unable to safely leave the SUV.

Firefighter Dave Harris was attached to a rope and walked through the water out to the SUV about half an hour after the crash happened.

When he reached Roberson, Harris said, "He offered to buy me dinner."

Harris said he put a life jacket and a rope on Roberson, and his fellow firefighters helped pull them out of the creek and up the concrete embankment.

Harris said this was his first water rescue since his training days, where he and his fellow trainees had to pull each other out of the Little Miami River.

Firefighters closed the on ramp for the rescue operation. There is no word about how the crash happened. Roberson is undergoing treatment at a local hospital, but is expected to recover fully.

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