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SUV sinks in floodwater near Eagle Lake
Listen to this articleA Cadillac Escalade travelling west on state Highway 465 left the roadway and sank in floodwater near Eagle Lake.
The vehicle left the roadway just inside Issaquena County Tuesday around 7:17 p.m.
Both occupants, two black males, one in his 30s and the other in his early 20s, escaped from the vehicle.
Eyewitness Chris Johnson, husband of Stacia Johnson of Alfa Insurance, was the first person on the scene and saw the passenger swim to the shore. The driver was standing on the SUV. As Johnson prepared to dive in to rescue the driver, the driver stopped him, saying he had just had back surgery.
“I can’t swim,” he told Johnson.
The quick-thinking Johnson saw a 20-foot log and floated it over to the driver, who used the log as a flotation device until he was close enough to the shore to walk out of the water.
Log used for flotation device by the stranded driver. (Photo by David Day)
The driver was transported by Medic 30 to Merit Health River Region, having aggravated his recent surgery.
The SUV is almost fully submerged in the floodwaters.
The Mississippi Highway Patrol, Warren County sheriff’s deputies, and Eagle Lake and Culkin fire departments responded to the scene.
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