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Deerfield Assistant Fire Chief Ben Clark was surveying storm damage on Friday, July 21, just after 3 p.m., when the car in front of him was swallowed as the pavement on Lower Road gave way. The vehicle clung to the asphalt by its back tires and dangled precariously over a 15-foot drop into fast-moving floodwater, Deerfield Police Department said.
Then things got worse.
Clark called for backup and threw himself headlong into danger. But as he turned to get more equipment out of his vehicle, the car's tires lost purchase. The vehicle fell into water so deep it covered the headlights, police said.
The torrent spun the car around and pushed it 100 feet downstream. The woman inside screamed for help.
Clark climbed down the muddy ravine and moved through the nearby woods to reach the car. Luckily, he had a life jacket in his vehicle for river rescues, he told Western Mass News.
He pulled the woman out of her car and moved her out of the water to safety. The ambulance Clark had called arrived a few minutes later, and paramedics took her to Baystate Franklin Medical Center, police said.
Authorities did not release her name, but police said she is recovering from the ordeal.
Dudley Police Chief John Paciorek Jr. called Ben a "true hero" for his actions last week.
The section of Lower Road remains closed as crews work to patch the road.
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