A look at the South Saskatchewan riverbank where a car rolled down Saturday night. (Russ Austin/Submitted photo)

By Brent Bosker

Man rescued after driving off cliff near Sask. ferry crossing

Sep 21, 2020 | 1:02 PM

A driver trying to catch a ferry is lucky to be alive after his vehicle nearly ended up in the river.

On Saturday at 11:15 p.m., Warman Fire and Rescue and Corman Park Police responded to a call about a vehicle that drove off a cliff. The vehicle ended up rolling down the South Saskatchewan River bank near the Clarkboro Ferry.

“There was someone coming off the ferry and they described it as a car doing somewhat of a ‘superman’ off the cliff,” said Warman Fire Chief Russ Austin.

“It looked like the person missed the left turn to go down into the ferry crossing and just kept going straight through some trees… then across about 300 metres of field where they ran out of road.”

Austin says that section of the riverbank is very steep, estimating the car plunged 300 feet before landing on its side near the water with the driver pinned inside.

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The rescue operation was no easy feat. Austin said crews had to make their way down the steep bank with equipment in tow to reach the vehicle that came to rest just a few meters from the water.

“It was a pretty complex rescue. The biggest thing was trying to stabilize that vehicle so it didn’t go into the river,” he said.

“At the end of the day, they used basically cordless Sawzalls to cut into the vehicle. They were able to get the roof off, part of the side off and got the patient out.”

The injured man, who is in his 60s, was loaded into an ambulance at the ferry and taken up the hill to a waiting STARS Air Ambulance helicopter.

Police said the driver was in stable condition in the hospital.

There was no other information on the man’s injuries.