Area police and firefighters fished two people out of the Normanskill early this morning after their car became submerged on Krumkill Road.
North Bethlehem Fire Department Chief Paul Fuino said a driver removed the cones blocking off the road at the intersection of Krumkill Road and Schoolhouse Road at around 3 a.m., drove down the road to the bridge over the Normanskill and into the raging river, which Fuino estimated was running as much as 20 feet over the bridge.
The car flooded, forcing the man and woman onto the hood, and they were swept away. They were able to grab onto a nearby tree, where they sat for about 2 ½ hours before a nearby resident heard their cries and called authorities.
The Guilderland Center Fire Department was eventually summoned to rescue the two by boat. Both were suffering from hypothermia and were rushed to the hospital, Fuino said.
“They’re very fortunate they’re alive,” he said.
Fuino did not have the names of the two, but he said the driver was not from the immediate area and may have been unfamiliar with the roads.
“Nobody knows what possessed him [to move the cones],” Fuino said.
Police could not be immediately reached.
Krumkill Road remains closed toady.
Check back to spotlightnews.com for more information as it becomes available.