Firefighters saved a man from a car sinking into the Snoqualmie River Wednesday evening, Nov. 18. Duvall Fire Department staff were dispatched for the swift-water rescue at 6:10 p.m at the 16500 block of West Snoqualmie River Road.

Firefighters were able to quickly identify the vehicle in the water, despite the car being almost completely submerged. Jared Shoop, one of the responding firefighters, explained that the car was tricky to find in the river that night.

“It was easy to miss, there was a lot of stuff floating down, logs, debris, grass bunches,” Shoop said. “We are very fortunate we found him.”

The driver had about four to six inches of air above his head when rescuers reached him, Shoop said. They instructed him to move to the back of the car which was sticking farther out of the water. They then broke the back window and pulled him out with a padded life ring.

Firefighters removed the man’s coat and covered him with blankets when he got onto the boat. He was conscious and alert, Shoop said, and answered firefighter questions, confirming that no one else was in the car. To be sure, the King County Sheriff’s Office Dive Team checked the car and determined there had been only one occupant.

The total time from boat launch to retrieval of the driver was 14 minutes.

As for the cause of this situation, Shoop’s best presumption at this point was that the driver drove through a flooded area of the road causing his car to be picked up by the river.

“At some point his vehicle became buoyant and the river’s current pulled him 40 to 50 yards in,” Shoop said.

Shoop advised that people not ignore flood warnings or underestimate flooded areas, even if they look calm.

“The surface might be calm, but you can never tell what is going on underneath.”