Vehicle Pursuit Crash Leaves NC Officer Trapped in Car in Chest Deep Water

A vehicle pursuit crash sent a Maysville, NC, police car off a road and plunging into chest-deep water Monday night.

Officer Austin Goulder was trapped inside the car for about two hours as crews worked to free him overnight into Tuesday morning, the Charlotte Observer reports.

Maysville Town Manager Schumata Brown said Maysville Fire, Rescue and EMS, along with several other local volunteer departments, responded to the crash site. Pollocksville, Pumpkin Center and West Carteret were on scene along with the State Highway Patrol and Jones County Sheriff and deputies and the Jones County Emergency Manager, WNCT reports.

Goulder, 20, has been employed as a Maysville Police Officer since June of 2021. For over five years, Goulder has also been a member of the Maysville Fire, Rescue, and EMS team, so working on this accident was deeply personal for the Maysville fire chief, WCTI reports.

“When I first saw the vehicle, I thought the worst, and when I jumped down in the water and cut away the airbags and saw Austin, I was relieved to talk to him,” Fire Chief Michael Jordan said in a news release.

Officials in the town — located roughly 120 miles southeast of Raleigh — said several agencies worked together to rescue the officer. He was treated and released at a local hospital.

Officials said the pursuit started when someone drove away from a checkpoint.