SALEM, Oregon—An Idaho man not only survived being hit by a car on an icy interstate highway bridge but also a 50-foot-fall into a river and a swim through its frigid waters with a badly broken leg, authorities said.
Steven Arrasmith, 34, said the image in his mind of his 7-month-old son drove him to keep swimming for shore through the strong current in the Snake River in the dark.
He finally reached an island near the Oregon-Idaho border and awaited rescuers, unable to pull his legs and feet out of the water because of his broken left leg.
“Basically, when I hit the water I was, ‘OK, I’ve got to get to shore,’” Arrasmith said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press as he awaited surgery in a hospital. “I was thinking about my son. I was wearing an Army field jacket and it weighed me down. I managed to get it off.”
Arrasmith is a lucky man, three times over, said Oregon State Police Capt. Bill Fugate, a public information officer.
“He’s very fortunate,” Fugate said. “In any of those events, he could have lost his life.”
