A 55-year-old Muscoy resident who climbed onto the roof of a pickup after it got pushed off the road by high, fast-moving water in Devore and subsequently fell into a wash Tuesday was found dead the next morning, the San Bernardino County Fire Department said.
The body of the man, identified by the coroner’s office as Edward J. Jozwiak, was discovered around 8 a.m. Wednesday a mile downstream, Fire Department spokesman Chris Prater said.
Firefighters responded to Keenbrook Road, west of Cajon Boulevard, around 11:23 p.m. where the Cajon Wash crosses Keenbrook. They learned that the black pickup with three occupants had been driven through a submerged area of the rock-and-gravel road where there was no illumination other than the truck’s headlights, and the current overwhelmed the vehicle, Fire Department spokesman Eric Sherwin said.
Sherwin estimated that the current was traveling at 15 knots, or about 17 mph.
A man and a woman in the pickup had been able to clamber to safety after it was pushed off the road and before firefighters arrived, Sherwin said. The man who climbed onto the roof was a passenger, Sherwin said.
As firefighters prepared to launch a boat, the current shifted the pickup, and Jozwiak fell off the roof and into the water, Prater said.
“That truck’s starting to move again, and the water’s rising,” a firefighter says, according to a recording of his radio call supplied by freelance news organization OC Hawk.
Then another firefighter says: “All units: Victim in the water! Victim in the water!”
Firefighters threw Jozwiak a rope, but he couldn’t grab it.
Firefighters searched for him until 2:30 a.m., when wind, rain and the current, which was riddled with rocks, tree stumps and other debris, made the search too risky, Sherwin said.
Firefighters have had to attempt several rescues in that location over the years, Sherwin said.
“This is a common access into that community (of Keenbrook),” Sherwin said. “People are very comfortable with the road and they simply underestimate either the depth or the force of the water …. It’s a tragedy, and this is why we try to impress the importance of the ‘Turn around, don’t drown’ mantra.“
Also on Wednesday, another rescue attempt continued in Chino.
Chino Valley Fire District crews were in their third day looking for a 30-year-old man who was seen getting swept away in Cucamonga Creek.
He was reported screaming for help about 2 p.m. Monday, Feb. 16, in an area of the creek in Ontario, said Dillon McElvaney, a spokesman for the Ontario Fire Department.
Rescuers saw the man in the water but were unable to pull him out, McElvaney said.
The search was suspended about 5:30 p.m. Monday because of high, fast-moving water, darkness and the impending storm, said Massiel De Guevara, a spokeswoman for the Chino Valley Fire District.
The search continued Tuesday without success.
Rescuers, including some on a raft, were looking for the man near Hellman Avenue and Chino-Corona Road.