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ANTIMONY, Garfield County — Due to the swift actions of a nearby angler, a man was rescued Tuesday morning after driving his ATV onto the ice and falling through, officials said.
Nephi resident 65-year-old Ron Segura was driving a Polaris ATV near Otter Creek Reservoir around 8 a.m., according to Utah State Parks public information officer Eugene Swalberg. He drove the ATV onto the ice to talk to an angler fishing about 40 feet out from the shore. When the man began driving back to the shore, the ice broke and he fell into the water, Swalberg said.
"All of a sudden the ice just opened and my four-wheeler was gone," Segura said.
Segura ended up in the water along with his ATV and started to sink.
"I just pushed off and grabbed the edge of the ice, stuck my head up above the ice and hollered over at my brother and brother-in-laws and said, 'A little help over here.' "
While waiting for help, Segura said he could feel the extreme cold beginning to take its toll.
"You could feel the pressure starting from your lower extremities and just work up through your chest, like it was trying to take the air out of you," Segura said.
The angler on the ice saw Segura fall, and he quickly grabbed a rope and pulled Segura out, Swalberg said.
"I ran for my sled and grabbed my rope," Carl Holmes said.
Holmes is 76 years old and notably smaller in frame than Segura, but was able to get to Segura quickly to pull him out. Holmes said he kept sliding on the ice as he tried to pull Segura to safety until he found a foothold on a rock frozen into the ice.
"I got my foot in back of that rock, then I was able to leverage him up," Holmes said. "He pulled and pulled, and I pulled and pulled, and up he came."
Thanks to Holmes' quick action, Segura was uninjured during the incident. However, his ATV will remain under water until warmer temperatures melt all the ice, Swalberg said.
Investigators said the patch of ice that Segura fell through was deceiving in appearances, and mild temperatures are adding to the uncertainty of the ice.
"We had a sheet out there, it's broken up. Then its come back with the colder weather and it's frozen, but it's frozen with a gap. So now we've got thick ice and we've got really, really think ice in between," said Ty Hunter, Utah Parks and Recreation boating program manager.
"Ice will never be 100 percent safe," Hunter said, but you can drill holes to check how thick the ice you're on really is. But, he warns, drilling only tests that immediate spot.
He said people should use extreme caution while on the ice, use the buddy system and always have equipment like ropes and ice awls in the event of an accident.
"It not if, it's when," Hunter said.
Segura said he feels fortunate that Holmes was close enough to help him quickly, but he also wants to add his warning about unstable ice.
"I'd tell anybody, be extra safe, you know. Poke holes as you go," Segura said.
