Off Duty Sheriff’s Deputy Rescues Juvenile Who Almost Drowned

One juvenile is lucky to be alive after being involved in an off-road vehicle crash into a canal in Park County.

The Park County Sheriff’s Office says shortly after 11am this past Sunday (October 3rd), Park County Sheriff’s Office Deputies and Powell Ambulance responded to the area of Road 11 and Lane 10 for a report of a motor vehicle crash.

The responding units learned that an off-road vehicle had crashed into the canal and possibly two juveniles were trapped under water.

The vehicle had been traveling eastbound on the canal road at a rate of speed too high to safely complete a right-hand turn.

The vehicle entered the canal and collided with the bottom.

It then rolled a half rotation over its front end causing it to rest on its top side.

The entire cab portion of the UTV was underwater.

The first unit arrived on scene at 11:11 A.M, and discovered that the juveniles were out of the water.

An off-duty Park County Sheriff’s Office Deputy had stopped when he saw a passerby signaling for help.

He discovered the UTV in the water with the passenger still seat belted in and trapped with just their mouth and nose above water.

The Deputy jumped into the canal, went under the UTV to release the seat belt, and got the juvenile to shore.

The Deputy was treated on scene by EMS for gasoline in his eyes from the leaking UTV.

The juveniles were cold, but uninjured.

The Park County Sheriff’s Office expects a high level of professional conduct from all its employees, however many of them continually act above and beyond the required level of performance.

Typifying bravery, honor, and a desire to serve their community, as this Deputy demonstrated.

“This Deputy’s decision to react quickly and save the juvenile from possibly drowning showed outstanding courage and decisiveness.” Stated Undersheriff Andy Varian in a department wide email. “Although he was off duty, his decision to move into action exemplifies the standards of the Sheriff’s Office and the duty to protect citizens in Park County.”

The Deputy’s actions are currently under review for possible commendation by the Park County Sheriff’s Office.