Positivity: ‘I didn’t even give it a thought’
Saturday, Apr. 19, 2008
When it was all over, a black carrying case containing her copy of the Bible floated to the surface.
For Barbara Fluette, 67, of Claremont, it was another reason to believe that her rescue from the cold waters of the Connecticut River was a miracle.
On May 9 of last year, dispatchers in Cornish received the emergency call firefighters know almost always results in a recovery, rather than a rescue mission: A person trapped in a submerged vehicle.
However, because of John Smith’s training and his gut reaction, Fluette became one of the few to survive the frequently fatal situation.
Smith, a Unity resident and a veteran of the United States Marine Corps, will receive the Union Leader Hero Award next month for jumping off his motorcycle and into the cold water of the Connecticut River to save Fluette’s life.
luette, who has respiratory problems and relies on an oxygen tank to breathe, emptied the two tanks she had taken with her to work at TJ Maxx in West Lebanon. Despite feeling sleepy, she had decided to drive home to Claremont.
As her GMC Envoy rounded a bend on Route 12A near the Cornish-Windsor covered bridge, Fluette dozed off. The Envoy launched over an embankment and crashed into the river, floating about 100 feet downstream before becoming lodged against some rocks about 50 feet from the riverbank.
All that was visible of the vehicle was the back half of its roof and roof rack. Windows had cracked and broken and the SUV was quickly filling with water. Fluette made her way to the back of the vehicle to a pocket of air in the closed hatchback that would give her about 15 minutes to live.
“I went anywhere there was air,” Fluette said later. “It was scary, but I kept calm.”
At least two motorists who saw the crash stopped and tried to help, but they weren’t able to reach Fluette. Smith, 47, was out riding his motorcycle when he stopped to see what had halted traffic.
After talking to a woman who tried to save Fluette, Smith took off his boots and dove into the 50-degree water, remembering the cold-water training he received in the military. He helped Fluette escape the vehicle through the back door.
Firefighters and rescue teams from Cornish and Windsor, Vt., arrived moments later and worked with Smith to get Fluette first onto the roof of her vehicle and then into a rescue boat that brought her safely to shore. She was taken by ambulance to Mount Ascutney Hospital and then to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center for treatment of serious injuries.
Afterward, a member of the Cornish Rescue Squad turned over a black carrying case to the New Hampshire State Police trooper at the scene. She said the case had floated out of the vehicle while rescue workers were securing ropes to a broken back window.
Inside the case was a copy of the Bible.
About two weeks later, Fluette, who had recovered from her injuries, and members of her church honored Smith at an outdoor event in Claremont, where he was presented with a plaque for his bravery. Fluette, who got her Bible back from police, said she believes God was with her that day and that her rescue was a miracle.
Smith said he just did what he had to do. …..
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