Three people had a wild ride last night when the car they were in went off a busy highway and onto and then into a local river. Police say 28-year-old Laura Pieper of Denison was traveling northbound on highways 59 and 141 when she lost control of her car and left the roadway just before the Boyer River bridge. The vehicle then traveled down the ditch, across the edge of a farm field and then down an embankment onto a layer of ice that had formed on the river. The vehicle then traveled nearly three-quarters of the way across the river before breaking through the ice where it came to rest in two feet of water.
A passenger in the car, 23-year-old Brian Lembke of Denison, was able to free himself from the vehicle and make his way to shore. Pieper, along with another occupant in the vehicle, 45-year-old Jill Schmadtke of Schleswig, were both rescued by local emergency response crews a short time later. All three individuals were taken to Crawford County Memorial hospital in Denison for treatment of injuries, none of which appear to be-life threatening at this time.
