Driver ejected into river lucky to be alive

GREER — A man injured when he was ejected from his pickup truck and landed in the Clearwater River near Greer is lucky to have survived, according to rescuers.

Kamiah Fire Rescue EMS Chief Billy Monahan said the unnamed man was ejected through the sunroof when his truck rolled off U.S. Highway 12 on the afternoon of New Year’s Eve.

“He is super lucky he landed in the water. There are huge boulders in that area of the river. If he would have landed on hard ground, he would have been in a much more severe condition.”

Monahan noted the truck stopped before reaching the river and the man would have been better off if seat belts had kept him in the vehicle.

“The moral of that story is wear your seatbelts. That force of rolling and spinning — most people will leave the car when the window opens or breaks or when the door opens, they are ejected. The seat belt keeps you in the seat.”

The man was rescued from the river by people who witnessed the accident. First responders moved him to an ambulance that took him to the Greer Bridge where traffic was stopped so a Life Flight helicopter could land.

“It’s safe. It’s level. There are no wires or trees or obstructions.”

He was taken to St. Joseph Regional Medical Center at Lewiston. Monahan praised Life Flight for the company’s ability to quickly get injured people to trauma centers.

“They are just an invaluable resource for us to rely on and it gets your patient to a facility capable of managing higher levels of care.”