Maryville woman rescued after vehicle lands in creek off Helton Road
By Wes Wade | (wes.wade@thedailytimes.com)
A Maryville woman escaped injury after her vehicle crashed into a creek Tuesday afternoon, trapping her inside the upside-down vehicle as it filled with water.
Blount County Fire Department Chief Doug McClanahan said a passerby noticed Allison Marcum’s vehicle in a creek off Helton Road shortly after 1:30 p.m. and phoned authorities. The caller, who reported the vehicle upside down and about two-thirds full of water, then attempted to break out a window to get to Marcum, McClanahan said.
“Windows on vehicles are very hard to break, unless you know what you’re doing,” McClanahan said.
Firefighters, who were dispatched at 1:38 p.m., began arriving two minutes later and had Marcum out of the vehicle about two minutes later, McClanahan said. Firefighters were able to adjust a seat and pull Marcum out of the vehicle and up the bank to safety. McClanahan said Marcum had crawled to the rear of the vehicle, where an air pocket had formed.
Based on what Marcum told firefighters, she had either looked down to retrieve something in her vehicle or looked off the road briefly before the crash.
“This particular bridge has no railing on it and she ran off the side of the road and went into the water,” McClanahan said. The vehicle went into a creek near Centennial Church Road.
Six firefighters and three trucks responded to the scene.
While Marcum was a little chilly from the ordeal, McClanahan said, she was not injured. Rural/Metro Ambulance Service was initially called, but was canceled once Marcum was rescued and found to be without injury. She was the sole occupant of the vehicle. The Blount County Sheriff’s Office was also on scene.
