A Kansas fisherman near Herington Lake heard the sound of a vehicle crashing shortly after midnight. He could not see where it had happened, but he could hear someone in the darkness calling for help.
When emergency crews finally located the source of those cries, they were not looking at a pickup sitting in a shallow ditch. The truck had plunged into a circular, water-filled cistern approximately 30 feet across and was already submerged.
The lone occupant had escaped the cab but remained trapped inside the shaft. According to firefighters, he was floating on a spare tire and could barely touch the bed of the truck as it continued sinking beneath him.
What followed was an extraordinary rescue involving multiple fire departments, emergency medical crews, sheriff’s deputies, technical rope equipment, a 35-foot ladder, divers, and a 50-ton heavy wrecker brought in to lift the pickup from roughly 30 feet below the top of the cistern wall.
A Fisherman Heard Someone Calling for Help
According to the Herington Fire Department, crews were dispatched at 12:24 a.m. on July 18 alongside Dickinson County EMS and the Dickinson County Sheriff’s Office after a fisherman called 911. The fisherman reported hearing what sounded like a vehicle crash near the west side of Herington Lake but could not see where the vehicle had gone. He could, however, hear someone calling for help in the darkness.
Herington Fire Chief 901 and Dickinson County EMS Medic 3 were flagged down near the spillway on 500 Avenue, where bystanders pointed responders toward what they described as a hole beside the roadway. Firefighters quickly realized this was no ordinary ditch. Just off the road sat a circular, water-filled cistern approximately 30 feet across with an unknown depth.
The pickup had already slipped beneath the surface, leaving its lone occupant floating on a spare tire while barely able to touch the truck’s bed as it continued sinking beneath him.
Firefighters Lowered a 35-Foot Ladder Into the Cistern
The incident was upgraded to a high-angle rescue, and assistance was requested from the Abilene Fire Department Rescue 1, the Chapman Fire Department Rescue 3, the Junction City Fire Department, and the Salina Fire Department. Herington Rescue 2 and Ladder 2 also responded to the scene.
Firefighters first threw the driver a life vest and rescue sling attached to a rope while preparing Ladder 2 for a technical rope rescue. With the water’s depth unknown and the pickup continuing to sink, there was little time to waste. Rather than wait for the full rope system to be completed, firefighters lowered a 35-foot ladder into the cistern and used it to bring the driver safely back to the surface.
The driver was turned over to Dickinson County EMS and transported for treatment, although officials did not release additional details about the extent of his injuries. Because of the darkness and the complexity of the scene, crews decided to wait until daylight before attempting to recover the submerged pickup.
Crews Returned With Divers and a 50-Ton Rotator
At approximately 10 a.m., personnel from multiple agencies returned to recover the pickup. Crews from Herington, Abilene, Chapman, Junction City, Marion County Fire District No. 5, Dickinson County Road and Bridge, Dickinson County EMS, the Dickinson County Sheriff’s Office, Evergy, and Salina Wrecker Service all took part in the operation.
Trees and brush first had to be cleared before recovery equipment could be positioned around the opening. A rope system was then established over the cistern while divers from Junction City entered the water to attach rigging to the submerged pickup. Once the truck was secured, Salina Wrecker Service used a 50-ton sliding rotator to hoist it from approximately 30 feet below the top of the cistern wall.
Crews were not pulling a truck from a roadside depression. They were hoisting a submerged vehicle almost vertically from a water-filled shaft roughly the width of a small house. Despite the difficult location and the need for divers, rigging, brush removal, and heavy recovery equipment, the daytime operation was completed in one hour and 55 minutes.
Family Member Says an Animal Ran Into the Road
Neither the fire department nor the sheriff’s office publicly announced what caused the pickup to leave the roadway. However, a woman identifying herself in the Facebook discussion as the driver’s sister said an animal ran in front of the truck and startled him.
According to her account, the driver swerved into a ditch on the opposite side of the cistern, came back toward the roadway, struck a friend’s vehicle, and then traveled down the other side before falling into the opening. She said her brother suffered bumps and bruises but no major injuries and that the person in the other vehicle was also okay, although that vehicle was damaged.
That account has not been independently confirmed by investigators.
Residents Question Why the Cistern Was Left Open
The fire department’s photos prompted questions from area residents about why such a large, water-filled opening had apparently been left without a substantial cover, fence, or guardrail. Several commenters said the cistern had been known locally for years and argued that it should now be filled, covered, or secured to prevent another vehicle or person from falling inside.
One resident claimed concerns about the opening had previously been raised with a city official, while another said they had long wondered why it remained uncovered. Some commenters described the structure as an abandoned railroad cistern or hand-dug well that may once have supplied water to steam locomotives passing through Herington.
A woman who identified herself as the driver’s sister also said the cistern had once been used to power steam engines before being abandoned. That history was discussed by local residents but was not confirmed in the fire department’s account.
The Fisherman’s Call May Have Saved a Life
Many readers focused on how fortunate it was that someone happened to be fishing nearby shortly after midnight. The pickup was underwater and could not easily be seen from the road, leaving the fisherman with only the sound of the crash and the driver’s cries to guide his 911 call.
Had he not been close enough to hear someone calling for help, responders may not have known where to begin searching. Looking back, it is difficult to overstate how unusual the rescue was. Firefighters were working around a 30-foot-wide, water-filled cistern with an unknown depth, lowering a 35-foot ladder to reach a driver whose pickup was still sinking before later returning with divers and a 50-ton sliding rotator to recover the vehicle from approximately 30 feet below the top of the shaft.
The driver survived by escaping the submerged cab, finding a floating spare tire, and staying above water until firefighters reached him. The Herington Fire Department credited every responding agency for making both the overnight rescue and the daylight recovery possible, noting that the operation could not have been completed by a single department.
For more photos and discussion of the incident, check out the Facebook post.