A Newton County man came to the rescue of a woman and her child after their car stalled in the middle of a flooded low water bridge.

The woman attempted to cross the low water slab over Dry Branch Creek on County Road 40 near Vendor early Wednesday morning. However, heavy rains Tuesday night and Wednesday morning caused the water level to rise, and the car stalled in the middle of the crossing.

Ricky Smith, who lives nearby, drove his tractor over and hooked it to the car. The woman and her child climbed on the tractor and Smith drove them to safety.

Smith estimated that the water was about three feet high on the slab. Smith said that the water was up to the bottom of the window on the upstream side of the creek.

Although cold and wet, the woman and child escaped unharmed.  Local authorities say that even two feet of swiftly moving water can stall or sweep a vehicle off a low water crossing.

The Harrison swift water rescue team had been dispatched, but Smith’s timely rescue allowed them to turn back before reaching the scene.