TURNER – Jane Pelletier is lucky to be alive this morning after rescue crews pulled her and her dog from the cab of a truck submerged in the icy Androscoggin River Saturday night.

“If this had been midnight, she’d have probably not made it because no one would have heard it,” said Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Sgt. Brian Smith.

According to sheriff’s investigators, the 44-year-old Turner woman was northbound on Route 219 at about 8:08 p.m. when her 2003 Chevy Silverado crossed the center line into the oncoming lane just before the Twin Bridges. The pickup struck a guardrail, catapulted back across the road and hit another guardrail, which sent the vehicle airborne. It flipped and landed on its roof in the Androscoggin River.

Pelletier was treated and released at Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston. Damages in the crash – which remains under investigation – are estimated at $20,000. The pickup truck is considered a total loss.

“It was very difficult to open the driver’s side door,” said Deputy Travis Lovering, one of three emergency responders responsible for pulling Pelletier and her pooch from the wreckage. “We could hear a lady in the vehicle screaming for help.”

Lovering said the vehicle landed upside down on an ice shelf near the river’s edge, broke through the ice and trapped Pelletier inside.

Lovering said firefighters from Turner were already working to free Pelletier from the submerged cab when he arrived on the scene. Turner fire Capt. Rodney Guptill was attempting to pry open the door while firefighter Tracey Giroux struggled to keep it open against the water current. Together, Guptill and Lovering finally got the door open and Giroux pulled Pelletier free from the cab.

Rescue and fire crews from Leeds also assisted with the crash, which occurred very close to the Leeds town line. A neighbor heard the crash and immediately called rescue crews.