TWO ESCAPE CAR IN DIVERSION CHANNEL FLOODWATER

Jacques Cousteau can't hold a candle to Cape Girardeau police officer Brian Ritter, who on Sunday went diving for a car completely submerged in floodwaters of the Diversion Channel.

Ritter, the "official diving officer of the department," as dubbed by fellow officer Barry Hovis, donned his diving gear to fish out the car, which had crashed into the floodwater just north of the channel early Sunday.

At 2:28 a.m. Sunday, a vehicle driven northbound on Interstate 55 by Harold Chouther, 45, of Normandy, ran off the road just north of the channel bridge south of Cape Girardeau.

"He left the roadway and ended up in the median," said Hovis, the officer who worked the accident. "Once in the median, he tried to get back on the northbound roadway and struck the end of a culvert.

"His car then went airborne, turned over, landed on its roof and slid into the Diversion Channel," the officer said.

A car following Chouther's vehicle stopped as soon as the accident occurred, police said. Jamie Cochran of Scott City pulled off his shirt and dove into the water to help Chouther and his 12-year-old daughter get out of the car.

John Niederkorn, who was with Cochran, went to call police. Hovis was dispatched to the scene at 2:28 a.m.

"When they said that there was a car submerged in the Diversion Channel, I was sure that the people were drowning," Hovis said. "When I got there a couple of minutes later, they were all climbing out of the water."

Harold Chouther had no problem getting out of the car. Nadga Chouther, his daughter, struggled with her seat belt for a moment before she was able to free herself and swim out the rear window, which had been broken during the impact. Cochran helped the younger Chouther from the water.

"That was a pretty brave thing he did," Hovis said.

The Chouthers were taken to St. Francis Medical Center where they were treated for minor injuries and released.

Later that morning, Ritter volunteered to dive into the channel and hook the car to the tow cables.

"(Ritter) said that he couldn't even see the car it was so murky," Hovis said. "He had to feel his way down the car to the rear to hook the cable up."