Troopers, First Responders Rescue Man Trapped In Submerged SUV Near Muskogee

Some Oklahoma Highway Patrol troopers and first responders who teach at the Cadet Lawman Academy in Warner rescued a man who was trapped underwater in his SUV.

The rescue, which was caught on a trooper’s dash camera, happened Tuesday afternoon on Highway 64 near Muskogee while those troopers were on their way to the camp.

The convoy of troopers and first responders ended up being a part of the water rescue when they came across an SUV that lost control and flipped into a ditch.

"God put us here, and we were able to help somebody out,” said Trooper Trey Mathews. “Anybody would have done the same thing we did."

Troopers Mathews and Brian Conaghan showed News On 6 the dash camera video and what happened at the water rescue scene. Mathews said he was first to jump in and that the water was at least two and a half feet deep.

"So, I opened the door and then crawled in, and I was getting in, his head was bobbing up and down,” said Mathews. “He was trying to gasp for air."

Conaghan said he, then, jumped in to help stabilize the victim, an 80-year-old man from Braggs, who had injuries to his head and organs.

A witness took a photo, showing troopers getting help from an Air Force firefighter and medic who was with them.

"After we came out of the water, I looked up and there's four or five troopers, there's a police chief for a local municipality, police department around here, there's a school counselor, and there's a medic and there were several bystanders that had stopped,” Conaghan said.

Both troopers said they had never been a part of a water rescue before.

"Watching it back now, it's pretty surreal that you really were in the right place at the right time,” said Mathews.

Mathews and Conaghan said what happened was a learning moment for them, and they shared that lesson with students in the Cadet Lawman Academy this week.

"That we really provide a service to the public and part of that is rendering first aid," said Conaghan.

Troopers said the victim was able to answer some questions and then flown to Tulsa for treatment.

At last check, the man was still in the hospital. As to why he lost control, that is under investigation.