OTTAWA COUNTY, Mich. – A 47-year-old man had to be rescued by sheriff’s deputies in West Michigan after the vehicle he was driving left the road, hit several road signs and careened down a ditch into a creek on Friday evening.
The Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office said deputies responded to reports of a crash on westbound I-196 just west of the Kenowa Avenue overpass in Georgetown Township around 7:11 p.m. on Nov. 25.
Upon investigation, deputies determined the driver, a 47-year-old man, was traveling west on I-196 when his vehicle left the road on the north side. The vehicle skirted along the guardrail and hit several road signs before it went down a steep ditch.
The vehicle submerged in roughly three feet of water in Rush Creek, authorities added.
Deputies at the scene were able to help the man out of the submerged vehicle. The man then climbed from the roof of his vehicle to the bank of Rush Creek by a ladder provided by the Georgetown Fire Department.
Authorities said the man was the single occupant in the vehicle and was unharmed in the crash.
Law enforcement had shut down the north lane of WB I-196 for over three hours, causing major traffic delays as crews worked the scene.
The exact cause of the crash remains under investigation at this time, authorities said.