Ill. Deputies Save Men From Truck Caught in Drift

Jan. 8, 2014
Sheriff's deputies assisted other emergency responders in the rescue of three young men who were stranded in a snow drift.

WARRENSBURG, Ill. -- Sheriff's deputies assisted other emergency responders in the rescue of three young men who were stranded in a snow drift on Park Road, near Kenney Road for more than five hours Sunday.

Those three men, estimated to be in their 20s, were en route to help a friend, who was stuck in the snow about five miles away on Wyckles Road near Illiniwick Road, Warrensburg Fire Chief Keith Hackl said.

About 3:30 p.m. Warrensburg firefighters helped the stranded motorist on Wyckles Road.

"We pulled him out and he went on his way," Hackl said.

The three young men, in a Ford pickup truck on Park Road, called the fire department, to report they were stuck in a snow drift in the roadway. They had been trying to make it to safety on their own.

"They were there about five hours before they called anybody," Hackl said. "When they called me they were getting a little panicky."

There was so much deep snow nearby, it was difficult for rescuers to get to their location. In some places, the drifts were four or five feet high. A county truck trying to break through got stuck.

"As they sat there it just got worse and worse and worse," Hackl said.

The Warrensburg Police Department reached the young men with its Humvee. The doors to the stranded men's truck were sealed by snow. They had to crawl through the windows to gain their freedom.

"They couldn't wait to get out of that truck," Hackl said, adding they were brought to the firehouse to warm up, then went on their way.

Macon County Highway Department and Illini Township also took part in the rescue.

"When a road is closed people need to stay off of it," Hackl said. "All county highways were closed at that point. You couldn't even see the front of your car. It put us in harm's way to try to get to them."

Copyright 2014 - Herald & Review, Decatur, Ill.

McClatchy-Tribune News Service

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