When Eliot Colsten heard the story and saw the photos of an SUV that had been swept downstream in Oak Creek, he thought the worst.
“Last year we did our first recovery of a vehicle that involved a fatality,” he said. “When I saw the photos of this incident, my heart fell because I thought the same thing had happened. I was shocked and relieved when I called the insurance company back and she told me everyone was fine.”
Colsten, owner of the Queen Creek-based Arizona Off-Road Rescue and Towing, was brought in to recover a late-model Toyota 4 Runner that was about a half-mile downstream from Oak Creek Cliffs. On March 2, Sedona resident Bryan Davis was attempting to cross a low-laying bridge when the swift running current swept his car into the water.
“Everything was moving so quickly so I knew I had to get out,” Davis said two days following the incident. “I held on for a while but I was worried I would get trapped. After I got out, I pushed myself away from the vehicle as much as I could. From there I swam, crawled and did whatever I could to get to shore, which was about 500 yards from the bridge. In all, I think I was in the water for about 15 minutes.”
He added, “When I was floating down that creek I truly thought I’d die. I feel very fortunate to be alive.”
To read the full story, see the Friday, April 10, edition of the Sedona Red Rock News.
