Passing driver rescues 2 men trapped in upside down truck in Saskatchewan slough

Peet said the driver of the truck managed to get his seatbelt off, but the passenger was still trapped. (Pixabay photo)

MELFORT, Sask.— Two people trapped after their truck rolled into a slough northeast of Saskatoon are safe, thanks to the efforts of a passing driver.

Melfort Fire and Rescue responded to a rollover on Highway 3 just after 7:15 p.m. Sunday about five kilometres west of Melfort.

Chief Paul See says emergency crews found a pickup truck upside down in a slough when they arrived.

Dale Peet and his wife, Leslie, were travelling to Prince Albert when they saw a truck in the ditch with its lights on.

Peet ran from his truck and waded across the water while his wife called 911.

Peet smashed the passenger side window and that’s when he saw two men inside the truck.

“The first guy, the driver, said he did not know whether he was upside down or backwards or what he was because it was so black,” Peet said.

Peet said the driver of the truck managed to get his seatbelt off, but the passenger was still trapped.

“It was a little scary for sure because the driver was having to hold the other guy’s head up out the water, he couldn’t do it himself,” he said.

Peet ran back to his truck and grabbed a knife to help cut the seatbelt. The three men, caked in mud from head to toe, then made their way to the dry bank where Melfort EMS was waiting.

Peet works as the operations manager at the SaskTel Office in Prince Albert.

He said he always carries a survival kit with him. The day after the crash he purchased a seatbelt cutter, which now hangs on his key chain.