A group of Orange Water and Sewer Authority employees helped rescue a woman and child from a wrecked vehicle off Old NC 86 in Orange County Friday morning.

A spokesperson for OWASA said employees Brett Bradshaw, Jason Blake, Roy Bryant, Andrew Crawford, Dale Lovely and Anthony Brady witnessed a motor vehicle accident Friday morning. The vehicle fell off a bridge into a creek and was partially submerged.

Orrin Robbins was traveling northbound on the road behind the OWASA trucks when they suddenly pulled off to the right. The OWASA employees waded into the water and pulled the child out of the vehicle first, before smashed a window with a tool and extracting the woman.

“The [OWASA] guys were moving fast,” said Robbins in an email to Chapelboro. “The passenger side of vehicle was mostly under water and I think the airbag had deployed. Took a lot of effort to extract driver. Probably five minutes. [The OWASA employees then] carried her to the bank.”

Robbins says the accident occurred close to 11:20 a.m.

The spokesperson said Orange Grove Fire Department and EMS crews arrived shortly after and checked the two for injuries.

“The OWASA guys seemed to have things under control,” said Robbins. “They deserve serious kudos for their efforts.”

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