Floodwaters cause pair of rescue incidents

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Tribune staff reports

Police and firefighters rescued an Illinois couple from their vehicle after it became stuck in floodwaters Thursday night in the Bobtown area north of Seymour.

Harry Benton, 28, of Plainfield, Illinois, told police he had been traveling on Interstate 65 when he ran low on gasoline and his GPS took him off the interstate and onto County Road 1000N, police said.

Benton, who wasn’t familiar with the area and didn’t know it floods after periods of rains, drove his Hyundai sport utility vehicle into floodwaters in the 6000 block of County Road 1000N, according to a news release from the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department.

Benton said he tried to turn around, but his vehicle went off the road, became stuck and started filling with water after the incident reported at 9:15 p.m. Thursday.

County Officer Rick Meyer and county Reserve Officer Mitch Ray responded along with firefighters with Hamilton Township Volunteer Fire Department.

Meyer and Ray were able to pull up to Benton’s vehicle with a sport utility vehicle, and Benton and his wife, Erin Benton, 30, were able to get out of their vehicle and into the other SUV.

A second incident involving a vehicle in floodwaters was reported later in the night in the 200 block of East State Road 258 in the Seymour area.

A woman told dispatchers at 11:19 p.m. that she had hit some gravel in the road and her vehicle had gone into a ditch containing high water.

The woman said a passing motorist had stopped to help her and her 6-month-old child get out of the vehicle.

The floodwaters were caused in part by a series of storms that passed through central and southern Indiana on Thursday.

The East Fork White River at Rockford was expected to crest at 12.6 feet at about 2 a.m. this morning and then head back down. Flood stage is 12 feet.

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