CLACKAMAS, Ore. - A driver called 911 for help while perched on top of his partially submerged truck after he veered off the highway and launched 150 feet into the Clackamas River near Carver, authorities said.
Detective Jim Strovink with the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office said it was quite a sight.
"The nose of the truck is facing upriver and the cab of the truck is almost completely submerged, it's probably three-quarters of the way filled with water," he explained.
Strovink said the truck driver told dispatchers that he blacked out while driving along Highway 224 and somehow ended up flying some 150 feet off a cliff and into the river. The driver called 911 while sitting on the hood of his partially submerged truck as he waited for help.
"Trees along the highway probably slowed the vehicle down enough that it perhaps saved the driver's life," Strovink said.
A marine rescue team from the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office used a boat to reach the driver and safely got him to shore just after 10 a.m. He did not suffer any serious injuries, Strovink said.
The truck was described as a Ford flatbed with a hydraulic lift on the back that could be used as a dump truck.
The driver's name has not yet been released.
