In a case of being in the wrong place at the right time, firefighters who were training nearby were able to rescue a woman whose car ended up in the water at Bellevue Marina on Wednesday afternoon.
Witnesses say at about 2:30 p.m. a woman of retirement age was behind the wheel of a Ford Taurus near a boat slip walkway at the marina located at the bottom of Pine Street. That's when she accidentally pressed the gas instead of the brake.
The car apparently drove over the concrete curb stop, down the short embankment and into the water with the woman still behind the wheel.
In a stroke of luck, firefighters were conducting training exercises within eyesight of the incident, near the diesel pumps at the main dock.
"Our crews acted quickly and were able to rescue the operator from the vehicle and assist them to shore," said Aaron Gravelle, public education officer with the Sault Ste. Marie Fire Services in an email on Thursday. "Thankfully, our crews happened to be on scene at the time and we able to act quickly. It was a case of being in the right place at an unfortunate time."
Witnesses say firefighters with the Sault Ste. Marie Fire Services jumped in the water and pulled the woman out through the car's window as it floated for a time in the water. Nobody was injured in the incident.
"There was a bunch of them up there training and they were here right away," said the woman's husband of the firefighters. "It was quite something to see."
The car was towed out of the water at about 6:15 p.m. with some weeds hanging from the side mirror and front of the vehicle.