Man rescued after vehicle plunges into Wolf River embankment, Aug. 28, 2024. (Photo courtesy: Shawano County Sheriff's Office)
TOWN OF BELLE PLAINE, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — A Gresham man sustained severe injuries after an early-morning crash sent his vehicle plunging down an embankment of the Wolf River, trapping him for hours until his rescue.
According to the Shawano County Sheriff’s Office, the 68-year-old driver was traveling westbound on Highway 29 in the town of Belle Plaine around 3 a.m. Wednesday.
His vehicle entered the median, missed the guard rails and “drove down a deep embankment into the river.”
The man said “he had been laying injured in the water for several hours yelling for help” but because the area where he crashed is so secluded, no one could hear him.
It wasn’t until around 8:40 a.m. that an individual fishing on the Wolf River came across the vehicle and the driver in the water and called 911.
With assistance from Shawano Ambulance Service and the Shawano Area Fire Department, the Sheriff’s Office was able to remove the man from the river and transport him a short distance down the river on a fire department boat to a more accessible area. He was then taken to a hospital for medical care.
The westbound lanes of Highway 29 were shut down for several hours while tow trucks worked to remove the vehicle from the river.
This crash is still under investigation. Authorities said the man’s name will not be released at this time.
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