PORT JERVIS – A 30-year old Middletown woman says she was simply following her GPS directions as she drove her new 2017 vehicle to a dark area behind the Port Jervis Fire Training Center and into the Neversink River Sunday evening.
First responders arrived quickly and rescued the woman
The woman, who did not wish to be identified, was alone in her car, said she slid down a muddy river bank and into the water, not knowing the area or realizing right away that she was in a dark section of the river.
“I saw water hit my windshield and then looked around and realized I was in water,” she said. “Drowning has always been one of my worst fears. I could see the shore, but I couldn’t get out of my car. I spotted a log, and thought if I could get out of my car I could grab onto the log.”
She was unable to open her car door or make her way out of a window.
She said she called 9-1-1 immediately and stayed on the phone as rescuers arrived quickly. Huguenot Fire Department, assisted by Port Jervis Water Operations Team, made their way to the car which had floated down river to an area near a steep, wooded river bank.
The victim was assisted up the bank by a rope team.
The woman was treated on scene by Port Jervis Ambulance and questioned by Port Jervis, Town of Deerpark, and New York State Police as members of her family arrived from Middletown to take her home.
The rescue team continued in the river working to secure the fully submerged car for removal from the river to a tow truck.
