HARDWICK – An SUV traveling east on Wolcott Street Friday afternoon, crossed the lane of oncoming traffic, went over the embankment, narrowly missing trees, and ended up in the middle of the Lamoille River.
At 1 p.m., Friday, the Hardwick Police and Fire Departments were called to Wolcott Street where it intersects with Granite Street, for a white SUV in the Lamoille River.
First responder, Hardwick Fire Chief Perley Allen, arrived at the scene before other emergency services personnel and entered the river. He waded to the vehicle where he found Karen Putvain of Hardwick standing next to it.
Perley escorted Putvain to shore and up the bank where she was met by Hardwick Rescue Squad staff who took her into the ambulance to look at her injuries.
Allen said Putvain seemed to have no serious injuries
The fire department report on social media said they arrived at the scene where they “found an SUV that had been traveling east on Wolcott Street had gone up and over the embankment into the river.”
In his incident report, Hardwick Police Officer Gagnon said, the vehicle, a 2007 Nissan Murano, received major damage and was in the middle of the river. He said Putvain was the lone occupant. He reported she advised him she has been hit from behind while driving east on Wolcott Street, which caused her vehicle to veer across the westbound lane into the river,
Officer Gagnon noted there was no damage to the rear of the vehicle and “Putvain displayed signs of intoxication on scene.”
The SUV left no evidence on the road or embankment that its brakes had been engaged.
In the Lamoille River, with unusually low water during drought conditions, an airbag in the vehicle had deployed and the rear window was broken, with glass appearing to fall inward.
Putvain was transported to Copley Hospital for minor injuries, according to the police report, and processed there for DUI
The Hardwick Fire Department report said they “stayed on scene while the vehicle was recovered from the river.”
“The investigation is still pending,” said Officer Gagnon in his report.
Paul Fixx is editor of The Hardwick Gazette and lives in Hardwick.
