LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) -- A man who tried to drive on a flooded road south of Lincoln was trapped in his stalled car for three hours Sunday before rescuers freed him.
A diving team from Lincoln waded through 3 feet of rushing water on Saltillo Road to reach the man, Southwest Rural Fire Chief David West said.
The dive team removed the man, identified as Jerry Lyons of Roca, and escorted him to safety.
Lyons' car stalled after he went around barricades that had been set up to warn drivers to stay off the flooded road, West said. The current picked up as the water rose, West said.
Lyons' car was too far away from where emergency workers were stationed, so life lines couldn't be thrown to him, West said.
West said a Blackhawk helicopter from the National Guard was summoned. A Blackhawk could have used its cable to lift Lyons out of the car. But when it was determined it would take too long for a Blackhawk to arrive, rescuers asked for help from a Nebraska State Patrol helicopter that was surveying tornado damage in Hallam.
State Patrol pilot Jeremy Strack flew rescuers to dry land nearest Lyons, navigating a barrier of 50-foot trees, power lines and marshland to plop onto a 10-by-10-foot strip of ground.
From there, rescuers waded into the water to grab Lyons from the car.
``People don't realize even though it's a little amount of water, there's a lot of force behind it and it doesn't take much to push your car off the road,'' West said.
Lyons is not listed in the Roca phone directory and could not be reached for comment.
``He was embarrassed,'' Lincoln and Fire Rescue Capt. Shawn Mahler said.
