Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, May 7, 1995 TAG: 9505080103
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LISA K. GARCIA STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Short
John Leonard Eggleston, 64, of Moneta was driving his truck in reverse in the Snug Harbor subdivision at Smith Mountain Lake when he apparently lost control.
Sgt. Steve Pike of the Game and Inland Fisheries Department said the cause of the accident is uncertain, but possibly a medical problem led to Eggleston's wreck.
The truck hit a nearby car before speeding down a boat ramp, planing across the water for about 15 yards, ramming a dock, then sinking, Pike said.
Keith Michael, a schoolteacher from Fairfax who was fishing from the dock, pulled Eggleston from the truck.
Michael could not be reached for comment, but Pike gave this account of Michael's rescue:
Michael realized the driver of the truck was not going to escape and quickly stripped off his shirt and jumped in.
After maneuvering the truck's door open under water, Michael was able to pull the unconscious Eggleston to the surface by his shirt. Once on shore, Eggleston regained consciousness but was ``in bad shape,'' Pike said.
After Eggleston was on shore, rescue workers arrived and called for the LifeGuard helicopter. Pike said if it had not been for Michael, Eggleston likely would have died in his truck.
A state police diver helped workers attach a cable to the truck to tow it from the lake.
by CNB