A woman is lucky to be alive Thursday night after driving around a barricade and finding herself in a dangerous situation in floodwaters, according to a Chattanooga Fire Department news release.
A driver went around a barricade on Old Hixson Pike about 6:40 p.m. into the flooded roadway where water was several feet deep and very swift. The woman got out of her vehicle when it stalled, thinking she could walk through the fast moving water, but she was swept into the tree line, according to the news release.
She managed to grab onto a tree and called 911. Fire personnel rushed to the scene and launched a rescue mission. They threw her a rope and started to pull her out. She lost her grip on the rope so firefighters made their way to her, helped her get a life jacket on and got her out of the water.
Chattanooga firefighters rescued a woman who was trapped by floodwaters Thursday night, Feb. 6, 2020, after she drove around a barricade on Old Hixson Pike, left her vehicle after it stalled and was trapped by floodwaters. / Photos from Lindsey Rogers/Chattanooga Fire DepartmentShe was found to be uninjured by paramedics on the scene.
Mutual aid was provided by Dallas Bay Volunteer Fire Department. Removal of her car will be handled by a wrecker service.