Personal Injury Law

Water Main Break Traps Drivers

A massive water main break trapped a dozen commuters in their cars as the swift, frigid waters flooded a suburban road, and rescuers in helicopters and boats had to pluck people from the whitewater unleashed by an aging pipe. Two people in a minivan climbed into a basket lowered by a helicopter as the floodwaters raged past them which sprayed water on a rescuer reaching out to save them. Some people were rescued by boat from waters at least 4 feet deep. Everyone appeared to be safe despite personal injury reports of hypothermia. Temperatures were in the 20s. Officials said 135 million gallons of water per minute were gushing out at one point. Due to the gushing water?s intensity, fire officials did not allow utility workers to immediately shut down valves where the break occurred but they were able to shut down two valves farther down the pipeline. To read the full story, click here.

Full post as published by Illinois Injury Lawyer Blog on December 23, 2008 (boomark / email).