A man and his dog were rescued from the top of a truck in rural Kane in southern Greene County after the vehicle was swept off a roadway. At approximately 3PM, the Greene County Sheriff’s Department responded to a 911 call of a subject stranded in a pickup truck on Providence Road, approx. 1/8 mile north of Mid City Road, in the rural Kane area. Also responding to this call was the Carrollton and Greenfield Fire Departments, the Greene County Ambulance Service, the Carrollton and White Hall Police Departments, and the Morgan County Rescue & Dive Team.
Upon arrival, deputies and rescue personnel found Shane L. Wolfe, age 48,of Hillsboro, Illinois, stranded on top of his pickup truck with his dog, approx. 200 yards north of dry pavement. Wolfe had been traveling northbound on Providence Road, and had gone around a Road Closed sign, which was located at the intersection of Providence and Mid City Roads. Wolfe continued northbound and entered into the water from Macoupin Creek that had overtopped the roadway. As Wolfe continued northbound, the strong current swept the pickup truck off the roadway and into a ditch area, where it quickly was flooded with water and became disabled. The depth of the water at the point where it was swept off the roadway was approximately 4-5 feet deep. The Sheriff’s Department boat was summoned to the scene, and a sheriff’s deputy and personnel from the Carrollton Fire Department were able to boat out to the truck and rescued Wolfe and his dog from the vehicle. No injuries were reported. Wolfe will be issued a citation for Driving While Drivers License was Revoked, and will appear in Greene County Circuit Court in August. The truck is a total loss and will be recovered when the flood water recedes.
Greene County Sheriff Rob McMillen says it is the 3rd rescue that the Sheriff’s Department has responded to this Spring. McMillen wants to remind motorists to Turn Around Don’t Drown. He says it takes rescue crews lengthy amounts of time to get to a stranded motorist in a flash flooded roadway. He says that he doesn’t wish to be on a “recovery” call to locate someone who has been swept away by flood waters. He also wants to remind others that it puts emergency personnel at great risk when they have to answer these type of calls. He says motorists should expect flooded roadways in rural areas of the county throughout the remainder of the Spring.