Hannah Meneses, of Whitefield, jumps into the near-freezing water of Davis Stream in Jefferson on Friday, March 28, as a Ford Explorer sinks with Richard Pauley, of Wellesley, Mass., inside. Meneses and fellow passer-by Leon Ryan, of Waldoboro, successfully freed Pauley from the vehicle moments before it sank. (Photo courtesy Eliza Spear, Nobleboro)
Two good Samaritans jumped into action to rescue a driver after his vehicle entered Davis Stream in Jefferson and began to sink on the afternoon of Friday, March 28.
The driver, Richard Pauley, 60, of Wellesley, Mass., was traveling east on Route 32 when he left the road, according to Lt. Brendan Kane of the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office.
Pauley’s 2022 Ford Explorer struck a sign and crossed the grass embankment before it landed in the water of Davis Stream and began to sink, Kane said.
Lincoln County Communications paged the Jefferson Volunteer Fire Department and Waldoboro EMS to the scene at about 1:08 p.m. The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office also responded to the scene.
Before responders arrived, however, passers-by Hannah Meneses, of Whitefield, and Leon Ryan, of Waldoboro, came across the scene.
“I was driving over the bridge, and I saw the tail end of the car sticking out, so I pulled over,” Meneses said March 28.
She ran to the water’s edge and asked other bystanders whether there was a person inside the car. They said yes, and Meneses jumped into action.
“I swam up to the car, and I can’t see in the window, but I started hearing this (banging,) so I knew the person was alive,” she said.
Meneses said adrenaline carried her through the next few minutes.
She called out to the other bystanders that they needed something to break the glass, and Ryan quickly swam out carrying a tire iron, Meneses said.
However, the vehicle was sinking further underwater, and though the tire iron allowed Ryan to break one of the car’s rear windows, the hole was not large enough for Pauley to escape, Meneses said.
The car’s rear window remained above the water, however, so Meneses decided to break it open. Water began flooding through the hole, and, for a frightening moment, Meneses said, the car – and Pauley – sank out of her sight.
“I started panicking,” Meneses said. “I thought I made a mistake.”
Then, the driver successfully freed himself from the car and came to the surface.
“He came out from under the water, and I just swam to shore with him,” Meneses said.
First responders immediately evaluated all three individuals, Meneses said. Pauley was transported by Waldoboro EMS to MaineHealth Miles Campus in Damariscotta.
When the scene was cleared at 1:51 p.m., the vehicle was fully submerged and remained in the stream, not visible beneath the dark water. A diver and wrecker vehicle successfully located and removed the car from the water later that afternoon, Kane said.
