When a two-seater vehicle careened off Ballam Road and plunged into the Fraser River, a Chilliwack doctor was in the right place at the right time.

Dr. Ralph Jones was returning to Island 22 on Friday, Oct. 3 after sturgeon fishing with two friends – a retired doctor and retired dentist – visiting from the UK. They were aboard the boat of Bryce Welti, owner of River Therapy Fishing Co., when they heard a loud splash, thinking it was a big sturgeon breaching.

The four quickly realized it was a car that hit the water, so Welti drove the boat closer.

The 2001 green Audi sedan hit a hydro pole before entering the river, according to Chilliwack RCMP.

"It was completely submerged," said Jones. "Then we saw a man in the water who dragged the first victim out of the car."

Jones was told that

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