Jon Johnson File Photo: The GCSO and Thatcher Police Department worked together to help save a couple who crashed their UTV south of Daley Estates on Friday night.
By Jon Johnson
GRAHAM COUNTY – Law enforcement and paramedics worked under the threat of a lightning storm Friday night to locate and rescue a couple who had crashed their UTV south of Daley Estates.
Graham County Dispatch reported receiving a call from a woman just before 8 p.m. advising of the crash and that both she and her passenger were trapped inside the Polaris UTV.
Deputies with the Graham County Sheriff’s Office responded along with a couple of officers from the Thatcher Police Department. However, the terrain became too difficult for their patrol vehicles. At that point, a deputy and the two Thatcher officers continued on foot for roughly half a mile until they came upon the injured party.
By that time, the woman had made her way out of the vehicle and flagged down the rescuers. The male passenger was reportedly heavily intoxicated, making it difficult to extract him from the vehicle. Law enforcement was able to lift the male out of the UTV and then carried him into a nearby Thatcher patrol vehicle that took a different route to get closer to the scene. The officer then took the male to where paramedics were standing by and both occupants of the UTV were treated for their injuries.
According to the driver, she failed to notice part of the road had washed out and drove the UTV into the ditch.
The couple had six dogs with them, however, law enforcement only recovered five dogs that night. The UTV recovery was hampered by a storm, and it was postponed.
The following day, the tow company reported retrieving the UTV and said they had found the sixth dog and brought him to the animal shelter to be reunited with its owner.