Driver Hospitalized After Careening Into Flood Channel
IRVINE (CBS) — A driver whose vehicle careened off Interstate 5 and crashed into a flood control channel was being treated for hypothermia Wednesday.
The driver was rescued from the Peters Canyon Wash by an OCFA urban search and rescue team after the crash near Jamboree Road at 6:30 a.m., Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Greg McKeown said.
The car fell about 20 feet into the water, and the driver managed to call 911 as his vehicle was being swept down the channel, McKeown said.
"Our team got to him about 20 minutes after his emergency call," he said. "A firefighter used a rope to secure the vehicle and pull it over to the channel wall. Then a firefighter lowered himself down to the car and pulled the man to safety."
McKeown said the motorist was taken to the hospital suffering from hypothermia, but was expected to be OK.
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