Two people were arrested Thursday in Fayette County after a water rescue.
It happened at about 8 p.m. along Creek Road. Fayette County Sheriff Vernon Stanforth said that two adults were joyriding and recklessly driving in the snow in a 2021 Jeep Wrangler with a child in the car.
Charles Yahn, 30, drove into the nearby creek with approximately four feet of water, where the Jeep became stuck in the middle of the creek. A passerby saw the situation and called 9-1-1, according to reports. Yahn and 18-year-old Natasha Barnes popped a roof panel on the Jeep and proceeded to climb onto the roof with a child that was with them.
When deputies and medics arrived, Yahn and Barnes refused to come down off the roof, reports said. That’s when firefighters had to suit up in diving suits and go in after the couple. Yahn was charged with misconduct at an emergency and endangering a child; Barnes was charged with first degree misconduct at an emergency.
“The situation created by the driver’s carelessness put the safety of the other passengers and first responders in jeopardy,” Stanforth said. “Uncooperative adults chose to endanger the safety of a child, who was in their care, by refusing to cooperate with rescue personnel and thereby also putting the emergency units in peril. Fortunately, all parties were removed safely from the frigid water.”
Parrish Towing and Recovery was called to the scene to remove the Jeep from the waters, where an excavator had to be used to dig the vehicle out.