A local driver is luck to be alive this week after being involved in a freak car accident that plunged his vehicle over a steep bluff and nearly hit the water of Center Hill Lake.

According to the Tennessee Highway Patrol, on Thursday, April 6, at 10:14 am, 62-year-old Bryan K. Boring was traveling southbound in a 2016 Ford Escape on Sligo Road, into the entrance of Sligo Marina. As he attempted to negotiate a left turn he ran off the right side of the roadway, traveled over a concrete barrier, and overturned and rolled over a steep embankment. The car is estimated to have rolled 150-200 feet before coming to rest against some small trees very close to the waters of the lake.

Several people at Sligo Marina heard the crash and reported it to E-911. Deputies with the DeKalb Sheriff’s Department, the DeKalb County Fire Department, DeKalb EMS, DeKalb Fire’s Rescue Team and the Smithville-DeKalb County Rescue Squad responded to the scene, along with the THP and Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency.

According to DeKalb Fire Chief Donny Green, Boring was trapped in the vehicle as it hung over the bluff. The Extrication team, along with the Smithville-DeKalb County Rescue Squad, and a passerby in a tow truck was able to secure and stabilize the vehicle, preventing it from falling into the lake.

Boats were launched from the marina in order to access the crash scene, while rescue members repelled from the top of the crash site to connect wrecker cables to stabilize the vehicle. Personnel from Sligo Marina also assisted at the scene.

Boring was removed by rescue personnel, placed in a Stokes basket, and lowered to an awaiting pontoon boat on the lake at the bottom of the bluff. He was then brought to the Sligo boat ramp where he was loaded onto an ambulance and taken to the hospital. Boring’s injuries were not believed to have been life threatening.

Authorities say that Boring was wearing his seatbelt at the time of the crash and that no charges are pending in the case.