A woman who became trapped in her car while the Stillaguamish River rose around her was successfully rescued, but not before some harrowing moments.
Snohomish County Sheriff's deputies got a call into 911 around 7 a.m. from a panicked driver who said she was trapped in the water. She told dispatchers she was out on Stanwood's Marine Drive, which had been dry before sunrise, but the rising Stillaguamish River suddenly rushed in and swallowed her car.
"She was freaking out, I guess," said Deputy Bill Dawson who was the first to arrive at the scene. "I tried to get her to calm down and told her help was on the way."
The river was still surging forward as rescuers worked on a plan for getting her pulled out. Firefighters and officers had to pull their rigs back several times as the water continued to rise.
But the driver's wait for help was much longer. Her Toyota Camry was barely above the water line as crews finally reached her by backhoe some 45 minutes later.
The driver was drenched, frozen and shaking. But she did manage to smile as a medic helped her stay calm and balanced in the bucket of a tractor.
Dawson says he saved another trapped driver down the same road just a few hours earlier.
"Why are these drivers getting caught off guard? Because they're not paying attention," Dawson said. "There are signs out and it's obvious when you see water on the road you shouldn't drive through it." Going around road closures not only puts you in danger, but deputies say you'll also get a $430 ticket.
Marine Drive is now closed, and there are at least two more cars that were parked here when the road was dry are now under water.