Walter Harvey had a rude awakening on Saturday afternoon — under water in his car.
Harvey was cited by Allen County Sheriff’s Department officers for failing to cite an accident after an interesting turn of events.
Harvey said he was traveling northbound on 1600 Street toward Carlyle when the car he was driving, his wife’s, hydro-planed and hit the guard rail over Deer Creek.
“It must’ve slid along the guardrail,” Harvey said. “You could tell by looking at the damage on the vehicle.”
The next thing he knew, he woke up submerged in Deer Creek in the driver’s seat of the car.
“The seatbelt was stuck,” he said, recounting the events.
He managed to get free and pry open the door. After he escaped from the vehicle he walked approximately a half-mile to get his truck to remove the car from the creek.
Nearly two hours later, officers arrived on the scene.
According to Sheriff Bryan Murphy, officers were on a routine patrol and saw Harvey standing on the roof of his vehicle as he and Kenneth Wright were working to tow it from the river.
Harvey said the road was halfway blocked by the tow-truck, and the officers stopped in the middle of the road.
“I wasn’t even thinking about calling the police,” Harvey said. He said he was still in shock from the events and said his doctor later diagnosed him with a concussion.
The police report shows that no request for an ambulance was made on the scene, and officers did not deem it necessary to call EMS services.
Harvey disagrees.
“I think they should’ve called an ambulance,” he said. “A person was trapped under water.”
Murphy said officers take many things into consideration when deciding whether to call an ambulance. Deputy Derek McVey was on the scene.
“They read the situation based on what they see and also how they evaluate the persons involved,” Murphy said.
According to the report, the only apparent injury was a small laceration on Harvey’s hand.
Murphy said Harvey was ultimately cited because he “had the presence of mind to call the car-owner (his wife),” but did not call the police.
Accidents require notification of the authorities in two cases. First, when any damage is done to property (the county’s guardrail) and second, when more than $1,000 worth of damage is done to the vehicle-owner’s property. Murphy said in this case both situations were evident.
Harvey said he does not recall whether he requested an ambulance to the scene. He also said he drove himself to the Chanute hospital the following day.
“They could’ve handled it all differently,” he said.
Murphy said he could see no reason for any misconduct during the incident, and he said he backs any decision made by his deputies.
Questions raised in creek wreck
