ROCHELLE — A female patient was transported to Rochelle Community Hospital for treatment after driving her car into Lake Sule early Sunday morning, Rochelle Fire Department Chief Dave Sawlsville said Monday.
First responders were called to the scene near Wiscold Drive in Rochelle at 2:16 a.m. Sunday morning for a report of a vehicle that had driven into the lake. A witness at the park near the lake reported that a vehicle pulled up to the boat ramp, backed up, and then accelerated forwards into the lake. The car then floated and drifted to the south and the driver exited the vehicle and was able to swim to shore.
“The Rochelle Police Department and our personnel arrived on scene and administered aid and watched the car sink,” Sawlsville said. “Our divers and Oregon’s dive team located the car and made sure there was no one else in it and secured it for it to be towed out of the water by Maggio’s Towing. The witness said the driver opened the door in eight feet of water and swam to shore and climbed out of the water on their own. We didn’t know whether there were other people in the car, which is why we sent our dive team out there. The driver was not clear about potential other passengers.”
Sawlsville said the sunken vehicle was found 30 feet from where it went into the lake.
Water rescue teams from Oregon Fire and RFD utilized boats and sonar to find it and battled cold, windy and dark conditions.
“You have to plan for the worst-case scenario,” Sawlsville said, “We had to be thorough to make sure there was nobody else. There’s nothing out there in that area to block the wind. Temperatures were in the 30s. It’s very difficult to see. Something like that is super dangerous for our dive team.”
Officials were on scene at Lake Sule until about 6:15 a.m. when the vehicle was removed from the water. Along with RFD, RPD and Oregon Fire, response was also seen from the Ogle-Lee Fire Protection District, the Ogle County Sheriff’s Office and an ambulance from Ashton Fire. Lynn-Scott Rock Fire sent an ambulance to cover Rochelle’s fire station.
“We were thankful to have the mutual aid help,” Sawlsville said. “We get quite a few water responses. That’s why we have and maintain those resources. We’ve helped in areas near the Rock River such as Oregon, Dixon and Rockford. The dive teams from the area all practice together for instances just like this one.”
Sawlsville said he was thankful there was a bystander at the park to call emergency personnel after seeing the vehicle enter the water.
“So many things could have gone worse,” Sawlsville said. “They were able to open the door of the car and get out before it sank. And then with how that area is, there’s so much noise from Interstate 39 and it can be disorienting and if they tried to swim in the direction of sound and light, it would have been the wrong direction to swim in. The driver was able to swim through the waves and crawl up on shore. Then you’re wet and on shore in the cold. It’s very lucky that the witness was there to see it. Because the driver wouldn’t have been able to call emergency services.”
