Woman rescued after vehicle ends up in Lake Monticello
FLUVANNA COUNTY, Va. (CBS19 NEWS) -- Three young lifeguards at Lake Monticello are being credited with saving a driver who had a medical emergency and drove into the lake.
According to the Lake Monticello Owner’s Association, an unwell driver went through the LMOA pool deck around 9:45 a.m. on Thursday.
She then continued over Beach 1 and into Lake Monticello itself where her vehicle sank.
Lake Monticello lifeguards pulled the driver from the car before it went completely under the water and she was treated by paramedics.
Lifeguard Paige Tomaras was giving a swimming lesson when it happened.
"And then we look over and we see a car coming from above from Ashlawn, somehow dodge another car, went through the trees dodged those trees, hit a picnic table, went flying through the pool gate," she said.
Zachary Butler, another lifeguard, pulled the woman from her car.
"The car was sinking when I pulled her out, so that was absolutely insane," he said.
The woman was aware of what had just happened, according to the third lifeguard, Savannah Peterson.
"She was conscious, so I didn't have to check for breathing or a pulse or anything," she said. "So, I pulled her out, talked to her, made sure she was calm and was like, 'Hi, my name's Savannah, I'm a lifeguard, I'm here to help you, we are going to get EMS to you soon.'"
Two LMOA maintenance staffers, Josh Huntington and Travis Perry, and two residents, Mark Post and Kerri Lambert, also helped.
Eddie Shifflett, the chief of the Lake Monticello Rescue Service, says it was fortunate the incident happened when it did instead of later in the day, when the beach and pool would likely have been more crowded.
The driver was taken to the University of Virginia Medical Center in stable condition.
Due to concerns about potential toxic fluids leaking from the vehicle, Beach 1 and the pool would be closed the rest of the day.
Additionally, there is no immediate information available regarding damage to the pool deck, fencing or other property or how long any damage may take to repair.
The pool and beach are expected to reopen at 11 a.m. Friday.
The vehicle has since been removed from the water and the fire department has deployed booms to deal with any leaked chemicals.