Police car plunges into chest-deep water in NC, officials say. ‘I thought the worst’
A crash sent a police car off a road and plunging into chest-deep water in Eastern North Carolina, officials said.
The officer was trapped inside the car for about two hours as crews worked to free him overnight Monday, March 21. A photo shared with McClatchy News shows that the front of officer Austin Goulder’s cruiser was mangled after the crash.
“When I first saw the vehicle, I thought the worst, and when I jumped down in the water and cut away the airbags and saw Austin, I was relieved to talk to him,” Michael Jordan, fire chief for the town of Maysville, said in a news release.
Officials in the town — located in Jones County and roughly 120 miles southeast of Raleigh — said several agencies worked together to rescue the officer. He was flown to Vidant Medical Center in Greenville and later was released from the hospital.
“We are thankful that Austin wasn’t seriously injured and is going home,” town mayor Wayne Sayland said in the news release.
Officials said the officer was working for the Maysville Police Department when someone drove away from a checkpoint on March 21. The cop reportedly started chasing the car and crashed off N.C. Highway 58.
The town’s news release said the police cruiser wrecked at about 11:30 p.m., and the rescue lasted until early March 22. The highway shut down for about three hours as crews handled different types of extraction equipment and worked in the 50-degree water, according to WCTI.
This story was originally published March 23, 2022 at 9:00 AM.
