Left: After a long day the salvage company pulled the wreckage from the river. James Coleman, chief of the Lutsen Fire Department, took the photo of the Chevy Trailblazer being hoisted from the frothing, fast-running water. Photo by James Coleman
Tom Crossmon was worried. The search technician and trainer who owns Crossmon Consulting thought the water was running too fast for a diver to work in.
He was right.
The Chevrolet Trailblazer that was involved in the RV crash on July 12 was extracted from the Poplar River on Wednesday, September 5, after a lengthy attempt at using a salvage diver to help secure the vehicle so it could be pulled from the 20-foot-deep hole it was lodged in.
At the request of the Cook County sheriff Crossmon came from his Hermantown home and located the Trailblazer with one of his state-of-the art underwater drones. “It’s off to the right (west) in calmer water. The top of the Trailblazer is about 10 feet below the surface of the water,” he added.
That attempt with the diver ended at 11:45 a.m. when the diver was lowered into a boiling cauldron of water, and he started spinning in circles when his feet touched the white frothing surface.
At that point it was time to go to plan B. Using a giant claw attached to a steel cable, Lake City Towing out of Superior, Wisconsin performed the herculean task of pulling the vehicle from the depths of the river with its gleaming red 65-ton heavy-duty rotator NRC 50/65 wrecker.
Top: On Wednesday, September 5, Lake City Towing out of Superior, Wisconsin, used a giant claw to pull a Chevy Trailblazer from the Poplar River. Above: The salvage company hired a diver who made a brief attempt to enter the raging water to help find the exact location of the Trailblazer. Staff photos/Brian Larsen
Depending on the year the Trailblazer was made, these midsized sport utility vehicles weigh between 4,356 to 4,663 pounds without the added weight of water.
On Thursday, July 12, Richard Fulton Iacarella of Nisswa, Minnesota, age 70, went to sleep while he was driving a 1995 motorized home on Highway 61 in Lutsen. He was also towing a Chevy Trailblazer behind the motorhome.
The vehicle was traveling eastbound on Highway 61 when it crossed over the centerline, struck and broke through a guardrail and came to rest about 40 feet over the embankment of the Poplar River.
As for the Trailblazer, it broke free and ended up in the river, which at the time was too deep and running too fast to be able to safely pull it from the water.
The couple was wearing seatbelts at the time of the crash, and according to the incident report, road conditions were dry, and no alcohol was involved in the accident.
Both Richard and Cynthia Ann Iacarella, age 71, were taken to Cook County North Shore Hospital and treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
The insurance company is covering the expense of the extraction.
As for Crossmon, he was relieved the dive ended early. He has worked in Cook County in the past to recover drowning victims. A former diver himself who is still certified to dive, he now works with law enforcement agencies and search and rescue squads using his underwater drones. “It’s safer,” he said. He also works as a teacher and trainer, and will be here later this fall to take part in training for a Cook County emergency rescue conference.
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