April 6, 2023
By: Dwayne Page
A 62-year-old man was injured in a bizarre crash Thursday morning when his car plunged off a steep bluff near Sligo Bridge.
According to the Tennessee Highway Patrol, Bryan K. Boring was traveling southbound on Sligo Road (the entrance road off Highway 70 east to Sligo Marina) in a 2016 Ford Escape attempting to negotiate a left turn when he ran off the right side of the road into the parking lot. The car then went over a concrete traffic barrier, overturned, and rolled over a steep embankment until it came to final rest on its side in between two trees on the side of the bluff near the lake.
In addition to the TWRA, Sheriff’s Department, and DeKalb EMS, the DeKalb County Fire Department’s Rescue Team and the Smithville-DeKalb County Rescue Squad were summoned to the scene. Boring, trapped in the vehicle, was removed by rescue personnel, placed in a stokes basket, lowered to an awaiting pontoon boat on the lake at the bottom of the bluff, and then brought to the Sligo boat ramp where he was loaded onto an ambulance and taken to the hospital. Boring’s injuries were not believed to have been life threatening.
In a statement, County Fire Chief Donny Green said that “on April 6, the DeKalb County Fire Department was dispatched to Sligo Marina for a vehicle that had gone over the bluff. One person was trapped in their vehicle as it hung over the bluff. The Extrication team, along with the Smithville-DeKalb County Rescue Squad and a passerby in a tow truck were able to secure and stabilize the vehicle preventing it from falling into the lake,” said Chief Green.
“The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, and personnel from Sligo Marina assisted at the scene,” he added.