A Ponoka County man is lucky to be alive after a rock truck he was driving crashed into a river.
The incident occurred Jan. 24 north of Crestomere at about 2:30 p.m. Emergency crews including Ponoka RCMP, the Ponoka County East District Fire Department and EMS were called to the scene.
The large rock hauler drove off a bridge and landed upside down, trapping the driver in the vehicle, which was in about one foot of water, stated Dennis Jones, Ponoka County Regional Fire Chief.
The situation might have been more dire had there not been a beaver dam just behind where the truck crashed.
His injuries were thought to be severe enough that STARS Air Ambulance was called to the scene, however, it was determined that he was able to be treated at the Ponoka Hospital and Care Centre.
He, and a witness who was there to help, are reported to have been quite cold, however, they were taken to the hospital and released that same evening.
Ponoka RCMP confirmed the incident was caused because of wintry road conditions.
Jones said they deployed the regional spill response trailer to deal with a minor amount of diesel spill. Alberta Environment was contacted, however, the environmental concern was minor.
On Friday morning, emergency crews were at the scene to collect the hauler. It took two flat deck trucks from Calnash Trucking to get the large hauler out of the river.
jeff.heyden-kaye@ponokanews.com
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While the driver of this rock hauler was trapped when the vehicle crashed and landed upside down in a river. The truck was a few feet downstream from a beaver dam and he was only partially submerged, which may have been a factor in his survival. Photo submitted
Emergency crews were called to the scene of a rock truck in a river Jan. 24. The incident occurred north of Crestomere. Police say wintry road conditions were the cause of the incident. Photo submitted
Emergency crews and two flat deck trucks from Calnash Trucking were used Friday morning to pull this large rock hauler out of the river. Alberta Environment was notified of the incident and that there was a small amount of diesel that entered the river. Photo submitted
There was not much left of the cab of this rock hauler after flipping upside down in a river as well as having fire crews extricate the driver from being trapped. Photo submitted
Emergency crews were called to the scene of a rock truck in a river Jan. 24. The incident occurred north of Crestomere. Police say wintry road conditions were the cause of the incident. Photo submitted
