SPANISH FORK, Utah — On Friday night, Spanish Fork police and fire were called to an area near Arrowhead Trail and Main Street after a single vehicle went off the road and rolled into the river.
"Here in Spanish Fork and it was called in as a single vehicle that had went off the road and rolled over into the river," said Hales.
Spanish Fork Chief of Fire and EMS Eddie Hales told FOX 13, the driver was the only occupant in the vehicle, and he was sent to a local hospital in stable condition.
"Heroic in every sense of the word I can't thank them more than that. They're true heroes in our community," said Hales.
Hales shared how the two individuals who ran to help made a significant impact in saving the driver's life.
"We run down underneath the bridge first thing we know is the white car truck tipped upside down," said Preston Haun, a bystander who helped.
Haun and his wife were on their way home when they heard the accident.
"We were really getting frantic because it was probably 30 seconds 'till we got to the car and with all this checking the doors trying to lift on stuff. It just seemed like it been five plus minutes and I'm just like I'll get really worried because I'm like I don't know if anybody can survive this long," said Haun.
Amid the chaos, while trying to get to the driver, he appeared in the river.
"We saw the top of his head, so we darted over there, and we grabbed him and we started floating down. I think we're down 34 feet or so to where he was and then we were able to grab him get him up on the rocks," said Haun.
Hales thanked the community members for their efforts.
"They made all the impact in the world, those two individuals saw this accident happen they shopped their vehicles and ran down the embankment to the water and put their safety at risk," said Hales.
Stefania Fox was the other bystander who assisted. She sent FOX 13 the following statement:
Thanks for reaching out about the incident in the Spanish Fork River yesterday night. I am grateful that I was in the right place at the right time to help. The place the vehicle landed was right underneath the bridge (exactly where the incident with Lily Groesbeck took place several years ago). If we had not seen him go off the road, he likely would not have been found until daylight because the river is not seen from the road at all. Preston Haun who pulled over with me was awesome and jumped into action and we were fortunate enough to be able to get him out of the water and up the embankment to safety. The river was freezing but the adrenaline helped us work quickly. Luckily, I was able to speak to him in Spanish and communicate with him to make sure there was no one else in the water. He was able to state that he had just left dialysis, which could have possibly contributed to the cause of the incident. It was a miracle he was conscious, let alone alive when we pulled him out as it had been several minutes of being underwater. I was able to tend to his injuries with the help of Preston and his wife until SFPD arrived with some bandaging supplies for us to use and then Fire arrived to take him to the hospital. They were great and responded quickly and efficiently a short time after they were dispatched thanks to Tammy (Preston’s wife) calling 911 quickly. I’m glad that the situation had a good outcome and that he is stable and recovering.
"Anytime you can highlight the act of heroism from someone inside the community it's always an uplifting event and so the credit is due to these two individuals that literally went in a moment's notice without even thinking about it and put their lives at risk," said Hales.
Haun shared how it was his reaction that kicked in to lead him to help.
"I didn't even think about the coldness or the depth. Just knowing somebody's in there. I just we just went in. I know I doubt she even thought about it much either but just jumped in and noticed the coldest and it noticed really the current. How much how fast it was going or anything like that," said Haun.
He expressed how grateful he was for Fox and her life-saving skills.
"She was shorter I am and I was wasted, but she was like collar deep, so oh pretty impressed with her," said Haun.
He explained all that mattered to him, was that the gentleman who was driving was okay.
"I don't know if I just called heroic or not. I was just doing things that I thought I would help out everybody does or most people do anyways," said Haun.
A humble hero, who hopes others would do the same in a situation like this.
"I personally think you did everything you could to help someone. This truck was underneath the bridge. If me and Stefania and my wife weren't there he would if he would've just stayed there till morning. I don't think anybody would've seen him," said Haun.
Spanish Fork Fire encouraged people to always lend a hand when they can, but to consider safety first. "Keeping putting forth a good, good in helping your neighbors and being there in their time of need," said Hales.
