2 swim to safety from flooded truck Thursday

Two people were able to swim to safety Thursday morning after the pickup truck they were in was swept away in a fast-moving creek near Millersville following heavy rain and hail Wednesday night.

A man tried to drive over the flooded low-water bridge at Hartle's Ford Creek, off County Road 352 in Cape Girardeau County, when the truck was swept off the bridge, ending up several hundred yards downstream and covered to the windshield in water.

The man and another person escaped the truck and swam to a gravel bar but were trapped there by high water for an undetermined period of time, said Capt. David James of the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department. A man and woman later were found walking near the creek by firefighters after a passer-by called authorities about 10:45 a.m.

How many people were in the truck and whether all were safe took emergency responders some time to determine because the man reported another person was driving.

Kali Stoffregen of the Millersville Rural Fire Department said at the scene the man reported he was with another person when the truck was swept away, so a water rescue team from the Jackson Fire Department entered the creek and checked the black pickup but found no one.

James said the sheriff's department later determined the man was in fact driving on a revoked license, and he was arrested. His name was withheld pending formal charges.

James advised against attempting to drive over any water-covered road.

The storm

Nickel- and dime-sized hail rained down around Southeast Missouri after a brutal storm Wednesday night.

About 7 p.m., lightning started to roll into Cape Girardeau, and by 10 p.m., there were multiple reports of hail in the area.

The National Weather Service in Paducah, Kentucky, reported Jackson received hail at 7:36 p.m.; Marble Hill, Missouri, was hit about 9:15 p.m.; Scott City reported hail at 10:02 p.m.; and Cape Girardeau had multiple reports of hail about 10 p.m.

At 9:55 p.m., the NWS also reported up to 60 mph winds on the west side of Cape Girardeau.

Employees at the Bollinger County and Scott County sheriff's offices said no incidents were reported besides some downed tree limbs.

Bollinger County seemed to have the strongest winds, even having a tornado warning issued around 9:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Captain Greg Hecht of Jackson Fire Rescue said fire personnel responded to a fire about 10 p.m. at 725 Hickory St. in Jackson. He was unable to provide more details about a cause, but the fire occurred in the midst of the storm heavy with lightning.

Mark Hasheider, emergency management coordinator for the city of Cape Girardeau, also said fallen tree limbs were the most common report.

"We definitely had some street flooding, but because of the short duration of rainfall, it did not have a significant impact," Hasheider said.

There were also some fallen secondary lines around Cape Girardeau, he said, but none was electrical, just phone and cable lines.

eragan@semissourian.com

388-3632

smaue@semissourian.com

388-3644

Pertinent address:

County Road 352, Millersville, Mo.