Rock County deputy pulls injured unconscious man from creek

A Rock County Sheriff's deputy pulled an injured unconscious man from a frigid creek near the town of Spring Valley Saturday night following an accident in which a vehicle became partially submerged in the creek.

Slightly before 10 p.m. deputies were sent to the area of W. Avon North Townline Road and came upon a Mercury Grand Marquis that was down a steep embankment and on its side in the creek.

A male, who was later identified as George W. Franklin, 40, of rural Brodhead, was found unresponsive and lying face down in the water. He had cuts to his head, face and hands and was bleeding profusely when deputies arrived.

According to the Rock County Sheriff's report, Deputy Niles Boeche entered the waist-deep water and rolled Franklin's body onto his own, pulling Franklin's head and face out of the water. Due to Franklin's large size, Boeche was unable to remove him from the water until fire personnel arrived. Boeche helped Franklin regain consciousness and both were in the water for several minutes before they were pulled out.

After further investigation, authorities found that Franklin had been driving westbound on W. Avon North Townline Road when he likely fell asleep at the wheel and drifted off the north shoulder of the road. Franklin's vehicle traveled over 200 feet off road before striking the bridge and overturning into the creek.

Franklin was transported to Mercy Hospital and Trauma Center in Janesville and later transferred to UW-Hospital in Madison and was treated for head, chest and pelvic injuries, and also for hypothermia and frostbite.

He was arrested for OWI (first offense) and cited for open intoxicants in a motor vehicle, failure to fasten seatbelt and failure to maintain control.

Boeche was treated at Mercy Hospital for hypothermia, frostbite and exposure to bodily fluids and was released. Another deputy, Anthony Barr, was also treated and released for exposure to bodily fluids as he assisted Boeche and fire personnel in removing Franklin from the water.