Raft Guides Save 2 From Overturned Car In Arkansas River

CANON CITY, Colo. (CBS4) - It started as a normal work day for two raft guides in Canon City, but it took a heroic turn when the men risked their own lives to save two people after their car crashed in the Arkansas River.

"Get this guy out of the river as fast as humanly possible," Tye Dudley said.

That was the thought on the minds of Dudley and Jeremiah Peck, the two rafting guides who came across the life-and-death situation.

"The car was upside down in the river," Dudley said.

The guides were driving a group of rafters down Highway 50 when they noticed something unusual. What they thought was an upside down boat was something even worse.

"Freaked out, there was still someone in the car, the car was upside down in the river," Peck said.

Without hesitation the guides in the bus hopped out and jumped into the raging river.

"There was a guy hanging outside of the driver door, car was upside down, he wasn't getting a lot of air, there was water flowing in his face," Peck said.

"He was screaming bloody murder, he was pretty terrified, and I don't blame him," Dudley said.

They used every tool available, even helping the driver breathe using raft pumps. But it wasn't enough. They needed to get him out.

"There was about five or six of us and we all just pushed the car and were able to lift it up enough to unpin him and pull him out from underneath the car," Peck said.

Raft guides are trained for emergency situations, but both Dudley and Peck said they have never seen anything like this situation.

Both the driver and the passenger in the car survived, but are in the hospital.