[S]T. JOHNSBURY — Edie and William Goff prayed for help as their SUV slid down the bank of Passumpsic River and into the water.
They didn’t wait long.
“I just looked up at the bank, and there were all these people gathered,” said Edie Goff, 75.
Three mechanics from the Quick Lane garage at Twin State Ford in St. Johnsbury rushed with an onlooker to rescue her and her husband when their red Subaru went off the road and into the river Tuesday afternoon. No one was injured.
“There are so many ‘could’ve-beens,’” Edie Goff said Wednesday at the couple’s home in St. Johnsbury. “We’re so thankful to the Lord.”
The incident happened around 1 p.m. Tuesday off Memorial Drive. The Goffs had been headed to Houghton’s Greenhouses in Lyndon for a flower sale when William, 75, felt some discomfort in one of his feet, Edie Goff said. He pulled into the lot at Twin State Ford to adjust his boot, but instead of stepping on the brake, he hit the accelerator.
The vehicle shot toward one of the new trucks parked at dealership, so he turned the wheel, and the SUV went off the pavement and onto the bank, Goff said. It slid through the foliage and down into the river.
Water started coming through the floor. Would they have to swim? Goff recalled discussing.
A pair of passersby saw what happened and called out for help. At the Quick Lane garage attached to the dealership, mechanics Tyler Carleton, Derek LaCourse and Luke Before acted fast.
Carleton, a 34-year-old former firefighter, rushed into the water with LaCourse and one of the onlookers. The SUV was about 10 feet out, he said Wednesday.
He went to the passenger-side door of the Goffs’ SUV and ripped it open against the weight of the water, he said, helping Edie Goff out of the vehicle. LaCourse, 23, guided her to a ladder that Before, 17, had brought to the bank. Meanwhile, Carleton aided the husband.
“They were really, really calm, but they were thankful,” LaCourse said.
St. Johnsbury police officers and firefighters arrived soon after and found the couple safe in the citizens’ hands.
“There was help available almost immediately,” Goff said. “You could be cruising down the river on a Sunday afternoon, and nobody would be paying attention.”
She and her husband were glad someone was.
Workers later pulled the vehicle from the water, and the Goffs haven’t heard yet from their insurance company about the extent of the damage, she said. Her husband was able to recover a booster seat from the vehicle used by their 5-year-old granddaughter.
One thing that’s a certain loss: the boot William Goff had wanted to adjust.
“Went down the river,” Edie Goff said.
