N.B. man recovering after car plunges into culvert

Source: Sympatico.ca

NEW BRUNSWICK - A New Brunswick man is recovering in hospital after his car plunged into a washed-out culvert near Chipman.

Kent O'Donnell suffered a crushed ankle, a crushed vertebrae and bruising in the incident last Sunday, but considers himself lucky.

He said he was driving along Route 116 that afternoon and the next thing he knew, his Mustang was taking on water.

"I went around the turn and there was no road; the road disappeared," he said.

Heavy rain had washed out the culvert and left a huge hole, which filled quickly with water, O'Donnell said.

"When I hit the water, I didn't stay there very long. I floated downstream a ways and fetched up against the tree."

As O'Donnell clung to the roof of his car, another vehicle plunged over the embankment, but that motorist managed to crawl up the hill and get help.

"I've been here for over 20 years and we never had the experience of this before, but now we got it I guess," said Chipman Deputy Fire Chief Bedford Brown, who responded to the scene.

At first, fire officials weren't sure what they were dealing with, he said.

"When we first got here, we thought there was another car underneath the van, but after we investigated and got down in the water, we realized then it was just a bumper off [O'Donnell's] Mustang that was down in the brook.

"Like I say, he was down there about 75 feet [22.86 metres]. The water force itself shoved him down."

The road has been closed all week, but Department of Transportation officials hoped to have it reopened this weekend.

Meanwhile, O'Donnell says he's still "a little bit sore.

"But once I get healed up, I'll be alright," he said.