Stuck gas pedal sends car into river
A Columbia Falls woman escaped with only a broken arm and a few minor injuries Sunday evening after her gas pedal stuck and sent her car plunging into an icy Flathead River.
A Columbia Falls woman escaped with only a broken arm and a few minor injuries Sunday evening after her gas pedal stuck and sent her car plunging into an icy Flathead River.
Susan Wagner, 45, was airlifted by ALERT helicopter to Kalispell Regional Medical Center and was reported in good condition, despite having to crawl out the smashed back window of her Ford Taurus station wagon when it landed on its roof in about 6 inches of water, just east of the House of Mystery.
Wagner was alone in the car.
Traffic on U.S. 2 was backed up in both directions for about two hours while she was rescued and her car towed away, Montana Highway Patrol officer Robert Hensley reported.
A 911 call came in to the Flathead County Sheriff's Office about 4:45 p.m. Sunday from one of several other drivers who witnessed the accident and stopped to help.
Wagner explained the sequence of events to Hensley, who corroborated her story by talking with others on the scene.
Her gas pedal stuck as she drove east through Columbia Heights and past the House of Mystery on U.S. 2. Hensley said Wagner was "trying to ride it out."
Her car accelerated around traffic, passing vehicles in the four-lane portion of the highway through the Heights, but lost control on the downhill curve east of the House of Mystery as her car approached the Flathead River Bridge.
The car went through the guardrail, taking out about a 4-foot section, and flipped over onto its top. It landed at the river's edge in shallow water at the west end of the bridge, Hensley said.
Although her car was demolished, Wagner was able to crawl to safety through the rear window.
Other drivers said her brake lights were on as she passed, and the rotors on her front brakes were glowing as she tried to slow down the car, Hensley said.
She managed to avoid hitting any other vehicles.
The ALERT crew was called in to take Wager for treatment. Hensley was assisted at the scene by a couple of sheriff's deputies.
Working under flood lights under darkening skies, emergency responders pulled her car out of the water and towed it away before traffic was allowed to pass once again.
Reporter Nancy Kimball can be reached at 758-4483 or by e-mail at nkimball@dailyinterlake.com.