LYNDONVILLE, Vt. (WCAX) – Crews searching for an elderly driver swept away by high water in Lyndonville have found the vehicle submerged in a branch of the Passumpsic River.
However, search teams will have to wait for the water to go down before they can check to see whether the man is inside the car. They believe it will be several hours before the water goes down enough. But no one has spotted the man downriver and there is no indication he got out. Crews say they now consider this a recovery mission.
The man was swept away late this morning while driving through high water.
Lyndonville was one of the Vermont communities hit hard by flooding. State officials said in a news briefing Thursday morning that water rescues are ongoing in Lyndonville and they said it was one of the hardest-hit areas in the state.
The National Weather Service says the area got three to four inches of rain in town. Route 5 in town was left underwater.
Some people in town are telling us it’s worse than last year.
There are cars completely covered in water and outside businesses.
In Barnet, the road ripped apart in front of the village store off Route 5 with what appears to be major damage.
The Stevens River is right in the area, as well, and our Adam Sullivan says the river was raging this morning. He’s talking with folks in the Northeast Kingdom about the road damage and flooding. He will have that for you tonight on the Channel 3 News starting at 4 p.m.