Fire department rescues woman, grandson

DESLOGE — A Bonne Terre woman and her grandson were trapped in flash flood waters this afternoon between the sewage treatment plant and the cemetery on Cedar Falls Road. The Desloge Fire Department rescued the woman and the boy using a four-wheel drive brush unit.

Pam Perry, of Bonne Terre, was driving her Mercury Grand Marquis on Cedar Falls Road when she noticed the rising water in the ditchline. She didn’t realize the water was up over the road until it was too late.

“Once I went into the water I couldn’t stop,” she said. “The water came up over the hood of the car, but never got inside (of the vehicle).”

Desloge Fire Chief Larry Gremminger drove the department’s brush vehicle into approximately four feet of water to retrieve Perry and her grandson. Gremminger said he was on an animal rescue call in Bonne Terre when the call came in for Cedar Falls Road.

“We abandoned that call and immediately came over here,” he said. “This is a real problem area when it rains like this.”

Gremminger said under no circumstances should people drive into water that is covering a roadway.

Big River Fire Protection, the St. Francois County Ambulance District and the sheriff’s department assisted Desloge with the rescue. The Leadwood Fire Department and De Soto Rural responded with their rescue boats, but they were not needed.

Perry and her grandson were not injured.

Chris Cline is a reporter for the Daily Journal. Contact him at 573-431-2010, ext. 114 or at ccline@dailyjournalonline.com.