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Off-duty Hudsonville firefighter rescues two from SUV submerged in water

Posted at 1:26 PM, Jan 18, 2015
and last updated 2015-01-18 13:59:47-05

GRANDVILLE, Mich. — Two people were rescued from their overturned SUV after it was forced off of I-196 and into a drainage ditch alongside the highway Sunday morning.

Police responded to the incident, near mile marker #72 just west of Chicago Drive, after it was reported just before 10:00 a.m. on Sunday.  Upon their arrival, they found a white SUV overturned and mostly submerged in water in a roadside drainage ditch.  There was two people inside the vehicle when it was reportedly run off the highway by a “silver or light colored car, possibly a BMW” that entered the highway from the Chicago Drive entrance ramp.

Just seconds after the SUV landed in the ditch, Josh Wheeler, an off-duty Hudsonville Firefighter, arrived on scene and went into action.  When Police arrived, Wheeler was already standing on top of the overturned and submerged vehicle.  Wheeler was able to break out one of the SUV’s windows and with the help of Grandville Fire, safely remove the two occupants from their vehicle.  The condition of the occupants is currently unknown, though they were transported to a local hospital for evaluation.

The crash remains under investigation.  Check back with Fox 17 as more details become available.