Storm launches evening rush of emergency responses

Missing tubers, domestic violence and hit-and-run

[June 03, 2009]  Area law enforcement, rescue teams and paramedics, fire departments, emergency management and dispatch were all kept extraordinarily busy the whole of Tuesday evening. City police officers and sheriff's department deputies, fire departments, rescue teams, and paramedics went from one incident to another for close to five hours beginning at about 4:30 p.m.

It began as two storms advanced on Logan County, one from the south and another from the west. The National Weather Service issued a severe storm warning. The front from the west had rotation.

Spotter activation was initiated, and while some rotation was witnessed, the storm was mainly heavy rains.

Just as the storm was arriving, a report came in that five young adults were tubing Salt Creek from Madigan State Park to Rocky Ford and had not been heard from. Dive teams, search and rescue were sent out to search from Rocky Ford upstream. When the five were not found, the search was broadened. Middletown Rescue was activated to watch the creek at Polecat Hill.

Eventually the group was found safe near the place they were to begin their adventure, at the Sportsman's Club.

At about 7 p.m., Elkhart Rescue, the Logan County Sheriff's Department, Logan County Paramedics, Lincoln Rural Fire Department and Illinois State Police were called to a domestic situation on Interstate 55. When they arrived there, they found a woman left lying beside the highway.

No further information is available at this time on this incident. Illinois State Police is in charge of that investigation.

At about 8 p.m., Lincoln police, paramedics, fire and rescue were called about a woman lying by the street south of downtown Lincoln. It is believed to have been a hit-and-run incident.

The area around Pulaski and LaDue streets was blocked off and state police accident reconstructionists were brought in. Lincoln Police Chief Stuart Erlenbush said that an investigation is under way and further details will be made available after the investigation is complete.

Added to the storm, the search for tubers who weren't tubing and the two major injury incidents, there were also a number of other calls. A couple of burglar alarms were activated, both of which turned out to be false alarms. There were several reports of domestic abuse in process, one in which a victim claimed need to go to the hospital but was not to be found when police arrived. Police also slogged through hazardously flooded streets to unclog storm water grates.

The third shift was called in early.

[By JAN YOUNGQUIST]