Charlotte Fire responded to reports of a pickup truck that lost control, and entered a retention pond, where the driver climbed into the truck bed as it began taking on water

By Mark Price
The Herald-Sun

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Dozens of snow-related crashes were reported in Charlotte Saturday, and among the more unusual was one involving a pickup that ended up largely submerged in a neighborhood retention pond.

The crash happened just after 7:30 p.m. Saturday, in a subdivision near the intersection of Jerimoth and Cuddington drives in east Charlotte.

| MORE: Go/no-go technical rescue: A swiftwater scenario

“Fire communications received calls reporting a pickup truck had lost control, left the roadway, and entered a retention pond. Callers advised that the driver had exited the cab as it took on water and was standing in the bed of the truck,” the fire department reported on social media.

Sure enough, photos show firefighters arrived to see a sunken pickup with the headlines still on, and the driver standing atop a truck bed cover in the dark.

A fire department ladder truck was summoned to keep a light on the driver as firefighters stood in heavy snow, trying to inflate a life raft, photos show.

“Firefighters made contact with the driver and successfully freed the patient at approximately 8:25 p.m.,” officials said. “The patient was treated on scene. No additional injuries were reported.”

The driver’s identity and details of the injuries was not released.

The crash happened at the height of a snowstorm that resulted in 6 to 12 inches of snow falling in Charlotte, and higher accumulations north of the city, the National Weather Service says.

Medic Ambulance reports it responded to 52 crashes Saturday during the storm.

The former U.S. fire administrator shares how a colleague’s kindness in her first days on the job set her up for success

February 02, 2026 03:31 PM

 · 

Three Nashua firefighters were hurt when a reported gas odor led to an explosion and fire at the Greater Nashua Mental Health facility

February 03, 2026 08:59 AM

FASNY officials say New York has lost a third of its volunteer firefighters in the past two decades, prompting the association to roll out a volunteer optimization legislative initiative

February 02, 2026 11:32 AM

 · 

Boise firefighters are using the strip mall, practicing forcible entry, ventilation and hoseline deployment as the FD rebuilds experience amid retirements and rapid staffing growth

February 02, 2026 08:33 AM

 · 

© 2026 The Herald-Sun (Durham, N.C.).
Visit www.heraldsun.com.
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Program provides departments with the funding to address the risks of diesel exhaust and airborne contaminants

January 08, 2026 06:25 PM