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Car Plunges 50 Feet Into The Canal In Gates; Minor Injuries For The Driver

Wendy Mills
/
TWC News

A car went off 390-North in Gates early Thursday morning, dropping about 50 feet into the Barge Canal Below.

But Gates Fire Chief Jim Harrington tells WXXI News the woman was able to get out of the car by the time firefighters arrived to rescue her and she had minor injuries.

He says the canal is drained this time of year so there was only 2 to 3 feet of water in there.  Harrington says his firefighters used their training with rope rescue methods to get the woman out of the canal.

“We’ve had incidents before here in Gates covering 390 and 490. A couple of years  back we had the truck going over the bridge there with the driver in a precarious situation. Our training and stuff like that, we’re prepared for these types of situations we train day in and day out.”

The woman, identified as 38 year old Kelly Antochi of Greece, was secured in a basket by firefighters and brought to the hospital for treatment.

Sheriff's deputies say it appears Antochi was trying to avoid a pothole when she lost control of her car and it went off the highway.

Randy Gorbman is WXXI's director of news and public affairs. Randy manages the day-to-day operations of WXXI News on radio, television, and online.