Driver in Dramatic Rescue Charged with DUI in Georgia

Atlanta man Richard Sissons had crashed through seventh floor parking garage barrier.

Yesterday the news media flashed images of a dramatic rescue taking place in Atlanta. Richard Sissons reportedly had passed out and crashed through the steel cables that created the edge barrier of a Buckhead area parking garage. Only a few cables were preventing Sissons’ Ford Taurus from dropping 200 feet to the street below. Inside the vehicle, Sissons was motionless after having hit his head on the steering wheel.

Firefighters first determined that Sissons was alive and then lowered a man upside down to break through the passenger window, enter the vehicle, place a harness around Sissons and lift him to safety. A fire captain said the rescue was “one for the history books”, as he reflected on the probability that the cables could have given way at any time or the car simply dislodged and fallen.

Sissons, 36, was taken to a nearby hospital and treated for a shoulder cut. He was determined to be intoxicated and was charged with Driving Under the Influence in Georgia and damage to property. Police suspect that Sissons was speeding in the parking structure before losing control and crashing through the cables.

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