Blaine Hill and Elizabeth Borough Responders Pull Trapped Motorist from Rising Floodwaters

Elizabeth TWP, PA - Specialized Swiftwater rescue technicians executed a high-priority water rescue Thursday morning after an inundated roadway left a female motorist stranded on top of her submerged vehicle with floodwaters rising past the hood.

At approximately 8:20 a.m. on September 17, 2026, the Blaine Hill Volunteer Fire Company and the Elizabeth Borough Volunteer Fire Company were alerted to an emergency call reporting a vehicle trapped in floodwater with civilian entrapment near 1101 Happy Hollow Road.

Officers from the Elizabeth Township Police Department arrived first on scene, confirming a critical situation with an adult female standing on the vehicle's roof as water surged to hood level.

The Elizabeth Borough VFC Swiftwater Rescue Team immediately deployed into the turbulent waters utilizing watercraft and specialized personal flotation gear to reach the stranded car. Technicians secured the driver, safely transitioned her off the submerged vehicle, and ferried her to dry ground without injury.

Rescue units stood by on Happy Hollow Road until the high water began to recede, while additional mutual aid personnel systematically handled numerous emergency pump-out details for flooded residential basements across the township.

Assisting throughout the widespread storm operations were crews from the Elizabeth Township Fire Department, Buena Vista VFC, Citizen’s Hose Co. #1 of Glassport (Station 161), and Jefferson Hills Fire-Rescue.