KILLINGLY, Conn. — A man had to be rescued from Five Mile River Saturday after his car drove off the road just before noon. The 87-year-old fell asleep at the wheel on Main street, jumped the curb, drove through a fence and over a cliff 25-feet down into the icy river.
The car was stuck on rocks below. Witnesses nearby heard the accident.
"I heard this loud crash. This really loud noise. Actually, thought the car behind me hit the guard rail or something," said Dennis Durand.
Durand got out of his car and began to record on his phone. He caught the moments as a bystander and an officer climbed down a fence into the river to try and calm the man down.
"The elderly gentleman, we could hear him screaming from the window, so he was obviously scared to death," said Durand.
Rescue crews from Danielson and neighboring communities lowered rescuers down to the car to cut the roof off and extract the man. A dam operator upstream was able to restrict the flow of the river to help lower the water level.
The victim was airlifted to the Providence Hospital's trauma center to be treated for hypothermia, a mild concussion, and a herniated disc.
"Everyone worked together beautifully," said Danielson Deputy Fire Chief Jason Burges. "Everyone knew what their job was. Everyone executed it perfectly and the outcome for the patient I think was pretty good."