DAYVILLE, Ore. -- A 90-year-old Portland man was rescued after state troopers said he and his car ended up in the John Day River on Thursday.
Oregon State Police troopers responded to the Picture Gorge area of the John Day Fossil Beds National Park near Dayville just before 2 p.m. Thursday and found Milton Pearlman, 90, on his car in the middle of the river.
PHOTOS: River Rescue
Pearlman had missed a curve on the highway and his car went into the river, traveling about 800 feet until it got snagged on a large rock.
Troopers said Pearlman had been in the water for about 30 minutes before crews arrived, and he was suffering from hypothermia.
OSP Trooper Marv Ritter grabbed rope, donned a life jacket and entered the river several hundred feet upstream. He swam down to Pearlman, grabbed onto him, and brought him back to shore with the help of emergency crews, according to OSP Sgt. Gordon Larson.
Pearlman was treated by medical crews at the scene and then taken to John Day Hospital for further treatment.
Larson and Ritter visited Pearlman in the hospital and reported that he was in good health and spirits. He had been in Eastern Oregon sightseeing and was driving from Baker City to Condon.
