Sumner County Sheriffs Department
The photos show a Sumner County Sheriff's Deputy's patrol vehicle after it hydroplaned while responding to two vehicles that had already hydroplaned around road closure barricades.
One of those vehicles became completely submerged after the driver bypassed two separate sets of "Road Closed" barricades. According to a witness, the driver never exited the vehicle.
Three deputies, along with Wellington Fire/EMS, responded to the emergency. Both vehicles had been traveling north after driving around the barricades and hydroplaned in the flooded roadway. The first vehicle was pushed east into the ditch and came to rest. The second vehicle spun around and was swept into the west ditch/field by fast-moving floodwaters.
Deputies approached the scene from the north. The first two patrol vehicles successfully avoided the water in the southbound lane and stopped safely. The third patrol vehicle was unable to avoid the flooded area, hydroplaned, and was swept into the same field as the submerged vehicle. With the help of his fellow deputies, who formed a human chain, the deputy was safely pulled from the water.
After rescuing their fellow deputy, the deputies immediately turned their attention back to the emergency they had been dispatched to, even as they watched their patrol vehicle disappear beneath the floodwaters.
This tragedy could have been prevented.
Road Closed signs and barricades are placed for a reason. They are there to protect you from hazards that may not be visible until it is too late. When motorists drive around those barricades, they not only risk their own lives—they also put the lives of law enforcement officers, firefighters, EMS personnel, and other first responders at risk.
The first driver was fortunate and received a citation. The second driver's decision ended in tragedy.
Please respect road closure signs. No destination is worth risking your life—or the lives of those who come to help.