“I thought she was dead” says man and brother who helped rescue woman from Cheat Lake

This car went over the guard rail from Cheat road and rolled about 40 yards and ended up on its top in the Cheat River Monday. Rescue workers are seen here ready to rescue the woman, to be transported across the lake to be taken to a area hospital. she sits at right on the rock.

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Two brothers were traveling behind a woman who’s green Suburau Forrester was suddenly skyward, over a cliff, and sinking into Cheat Lake.

Their presence might have saved her life.

“She was in front of us,” Eddie Emery said. “She flew up in the air. We thought we saw something, and I pulled in and just jumped over the cliff and went after her.”

Eddie and his brother Andrew were traveling behind the woman in the Cheat Road area when they saw the accident.

“We stopped the work truck, got out of the work truck, went over the cliff, seen if anybody needed help, if anybody was alive,” he said. “We got halfway down the cliff before we could even hear her voice. She was crying out for help.”

The woman was attempting to escape her vehicle, which eventually did fully go into Cheat Lake, when the Emery brothers arrived.

First responders are still cleaning up the scene following a successful rescue Monday afternoon.

“We got down to the water edge as she was getting out of her car,” Andrew Emery said. “We helped her to a safe rock to sit down. We took our jackets off, gave her our warm jackets to try and keep her warm.”

“We sat down and waited with her until emergency response came. Then we waited for the emergency boat where we got her to the ambulance across the lake.”

Police haven’t identified her other than as a 70-year-old woman from Fairmont.

“I’m just amazed that she’s okay,” Eddie Emery said. “She was probably at 40 or 50 miles per hour, went head first into the lake. I thought she was dead. I’m just amazed she’s alive.”

The accident call came in shortly before 1 p.m. Monday.