CLEARFIELD – Police and other first responders have an incredible gift: to make split-second decisions in life or death situations.
But, it’s not as common for the rest of us as we tend to enter either a “fight-or-flight” response when we encounter these same situations.Though some do exist and are able to stay calm and think rationally in the face of stress, which was exactly the case Monday morning.
At 11:15 a.m., emergency crews were called to a reported water rescue with a vehicle in the Susquehanna River in Clearfield Borough.
About that time, a local couple Josh Aughenbaugh and Tia Owens were out and about in preparation for Christmas.
We had just left CVS Pharmacy when we heard a “large crash,” they said. Initially they thought a snow plow had struck something nearby.
But, as they looked over towards the river, there was a car “quickly submerging” into the water.
Josh screamed: “…Someone’s inside” and—immediately without thought or hesitation—he ran to help. Tia asked others to call 911.
By the time she got to the river’s edge, Josh had already discarded his coat and jumped into the bitter cold water.
When he first emerged, he said the shock of the cold hit him “hard” and he couldn’t breathe. But, he knew one thing: just “keep going.”
“I didn’t know how many were inside,” he said, “and there could have been children. I just knew I had to get to them. I had to help.”
Meanwhile the car was quickly filling with water and beginning to move towards the Raftsman’s Memorial Timber Dam.
“I was so frightened,” said Tia, adding that all she could think of was the possibility of everyone being “swept up” in the dam.
She said when Josh was about eight feet away, the male passenger climbed out of the driver’s side window. He made his way to Josh. Josh then assisted him to Tia.
They were “trembling” from the cold, which was almost paralyzing so they were thankful for two other bystanders who helped them. We basically formed a “chain” to get the male over the embankment, Tia said.
Afterwards, Josh could hear the screams of a woman as she began to climb out of the passenger’s side window, which was closest to the dam. She was really struggling to get away from the car in the fast current; however, Josh found a way to reach her and pull her to safety.
Both Josh and Tia were relieved there were no others inside, as well as for a quick response by local police and fire personnel.
They praised Clearfield Regional Police Officers Ethan Fritz and Zack Cowan, the Clearfield Fire Department and two male bystanders.
Crews from Rescue Hose & Ladder Co. were requested for additional water rescue personnel to assist the fire department and towing services with removing the vehicle from the water. Assistance was also provided by Clearfield EMS as the driver had suffered a medical emergency prior to the accident.
As Josh and Tia reflect, both know they were “meant” to be there and Tia couldn’t be more proud of Josh.
“I am bursting with admiration,” she said. “I truly think we were in the right place at the right time and we did all the right things. “With help.”
“It could have been tragic,” she said.
But now, “this Christmas we have something extra to be grateful for and are thankful everyone is alright.”
