LIVEMORE — A woman was stranded on top of her car in a swift-moving Livermore creek for about 15 hours before being rescued Tuesday morning, the Alameda County Fire Department said.
Just after 10 a.m. Tuesday, a camper near the 7000 block of Del Valle Road called the Alameda County Fire Department about a car submerged in the water.
Fire crews at the scene spotted a woman sitting on top of the car and began planning a rescue, while calling the CHP for help. Thanks to appropriate weather, a CHP helicopter was able to lower a rescue technician and get the woman out of the creek.
“It could have had a whole different outcome. She could have been swept downstream, but she was strong enough to get up on top of the vehicle,” said Battalion Chief Kent Carlin, with Alameda Fire. “Maybe out of her tenacity or luck. I don’t know what it was. The entire cab was submerged, so she was able to swim out of the window and climb herself up on the vehicle.”