By Kimberly Vetter
The Advocate
Copyright 2007 Capital City Press
All Rights Reserved
BATON ROUGE, La. — A Baton Rouge firefighter put his water rescue training to use for the first time Monday after a man drove a blue Chrysler into the Mississippi River.
Fire Equipment Operator Reggie Williams stripped to his pants and T-shirt about 11:30 a.m. at the edge of the levee near Brightside Drive and River Road.
Williams, the first medical professional on the scene, said he saw 25-year-old William J. Newton and heard him take a deep breath before Williams got into the frigid, chest-high water.
"He wasn't breathing by the time I got to him," said Williams, who swam to a clump of trees where the Chrysler was lying on its side. "He was submerged and his legs were pinned underneath the car."
But Williams didn't give up. He held Newton's head above water until firefighter Aaron Johnson arrived and helped him lift the car off Newton's legs.
Williams, a Fire Department veteran of 11½ years, swam Newton to shore using a technique he's practiced for seven years.
"It didn't go anything like it did in training," Williams said. "It's like I was moving in slow motion."
Newton, 4445 Alvin Dark Ave., was taken to Baton Rouge General Medical Center-Mid City, where he was in critical condition late Monday, Baton Rouge Police Department spokesman Sgt. Don Kelly said.
Williams did not receive medical treatment, but said he didn't regain feeling in his legs until about an hour after leaving the water. An official with the U.S. Geological Survey interviewed late Monday said the river temperature was 44 degrees.
Firefighters searched the water around the car for other people who might have been in the crash but didn't find anyone, Fire Department spokesman Robert Combs said.
The Baton Rouge Police Department's dive team also searched the area and did not find anyone, Kelly said.
Newton's car went airborne for about 200 feet before landing in the Mississippi River, Kelly said.
Newton hit the levee after speeding along Brightside Drive heading toward River Road. He drove into oncoming traffic, through a stop sign at River Road, up the levee and into the water.
Kelly said there is no indication that there were any other cars involved, or that the Chrysler was stolen.
He said police do not know why Newton was speeding and plunged into the river, but that "it's highly unlikely that this was an accident."
Investigators will conduct a mechanical examination of the car to try to determine if something went wrong with it.
A man and a woman at a house across the levee on River Road said they heard the car crash into the river.
"I heard a big boom," said Jack Grahm, who ran up the levee to see what happened. "Then I heard a man moaning and groaning."
Ann Geoghegan said she called 911 while Grahm waited for help, which came when Williams arrived.
