Good Samaritan from Antioch rescues driver from crashed car in Sacramento River
Vehicle in river and rescue of driver (light colored shirt) by Chris Arias (in black) with assistance by an unidentified man on Thursday, March 11, 2021. Photos by Keoua Medeiros via CHP
By CHP – South Sacramento
On Thursday, March 11, 2021 at approximately 10 am, a 2008 GMC Acadia was traveling westbound on Twin Cities Road approaching River Road. As the GMC approached the T-intersection, the driver, a 67-year-old male out of Oakland, had a medical emergency and accelerated the GMC to 50 MPH. The GMC continued through the intersection and left the roadway and flew into the Sacramento River. As the GMC began to sink below the surface of the river, the driver climbed to the top of his vehicle and yelled at witnesses on shore that he did not know how to swim.
Chris Arias, a 39-year-old male out of Antioch, had witnessed the incident and was standing on the bank of the river when he heard the driver state that he could not swim. Mr. Arias immediately jumped into the river and swam to the GMC. Mr. Arias told the driver to hold onto his back and swam back to shore with the driver holding on to him, saving the drivers life.
The driver of the GMC did not sustain injuries as a result of the collision but was transported to a local hospital as a precaution. When investigating officers spoke to the driver, he stated that he would have died if it wasn’t for Mr. Arias.
The South Sacramento CHP Area would like to commend Mr. Arias on his heroic actions. Without his brave actions, the driver of the GMC would surely have perished.
Antioch Police posted on their Facebook page Thursday afternoon, “Great work by a member of our Antioch community, Chris Arias! We are proud of you and thankful you were there to help.”
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CHP South Sacramento Thank you
