Deputy rescues man after SUV slides down embankment on Whitesville Road

A Fortson, Ga., man whose vehicle slid down an embankment and crashed about 10 feet below into a creek along Whitesville Road Tuesday night was rescued by a Muscogee County Sheriff’s deputy and a group of witnesses.

The 67-year-old driver, who was unconscious and on a ventilator late Tuesday night, received several scratches on his arm and a laceration to the right side of his head that required staples. He remained in critical condition at Midtown Medical Center Wednesday morning, Columbus Regional Spokeswoman Jessica Word said.

Authorities said they were called to the crash at Whitesville Road and Maplebrook Drive around 6:06 p.m. Tuesday.

A woman told police she was at her home in the 1400 block of Maplebrook Drive when she heard screeching sounds coming from Whitesville Road around 6:03 p.m. She saw the 1999 Ford Expedition slide sideways north on Whitesville Road.

She said the car left the roadway on the east side and then headed down an embankment to the creek about 10 feet below. Police later determined the driver lost control of the car, citing weather conditions as one of the contributing factors of the wreck.

Cpl. David Lang with the Muscogee County Sheriff’s Office said he was headed north on Whitesville Road when he noticed a group of people on the side of the road and vehicles stopped in the roadway.

He said he jumped into the water and used a hammer that someone else brought to the scene to break the rear passenger window. At the time, the driver was still seated upside down with his head and shoulders underwater, according to a police report.

Lang said he broke the driver’s window, opened the door and pulled the driver out of the water by his shirt and shoulder. He said that’s when he noticed beer cans floating in the water.

A group of witnesses helped Lang pull the driver through the open passenger door and move him onto a flat surface to perform CPR. By that time, medics had arrived on the scene to assist the driver, who was not breathing or conscious at the time.

Police spoke with the driver’s brother, who said he had dinner with the 67-year-old man earlier that night. He said his brother left the house around 6:20 p.m. to pick up some light bulbs from Lowe’s.

He said he believes his brother had a 12-ounce Bud Light beer with his dinner before he left, adding that it was normal for his brother to have a beer with his dinner.

The responding officer said he didn’t smell an odor of alcohol coming from driver.

This story was originally published December 14, 2016 at 12:13 PM with the headline "Deputy rescues man after SUV slides down embankment on Whitesville Road."