OTTAWA — Two Franklin County deputies rescued a Pennsylvania man from a sinking car Saturday. Franklin County Sheriff Jeff Curry said deputies Tim Jones and Karl Bentley responded to a hit-and-run collision on I-35 southwest of Ottawa. Curry said a car hit a semi-truck and left the scene. The car went off the highway and crashed through several fences in the 2400 block of Kentucky Road and plowed into a pond. Bentley followed the trail and found the car sinking and a man in the front seat. He went into the water but couldn’t get in because the man was incapcitated and the doors locked. With the car sinking and the water up to the man’s neck, Bentley used his police baton to break a window. Jones arrived and with the water going over the driver’s head, Bentley and Jones dragged him out of the car and to the bank. He was taken to Ransom Memorial Hospital where he was treated and released. Curry identified the driver as Richard Crook II and he was going to Ottawa to attend a wedding. The accident is under investigation but it appears Crook had a medical condition prior to the accident, Curry said.
Tuesday, Oct. 18, 9 a.m.
