Driver rescued after ignoring flood barricades and getting car submerged

A 21-year-old Winnipeg man had to be rescued from his sinking car after ignoring barricades and driving into a flooded area of southern Manitoba.

RCMPreceivedan urgent call at8:15 a.m. Thursday from a man who said he was stranded in his vehicle on Provincial Road 200 south of Winnipeg andjust north of St. Adolphe, in the rural municipality of Ritchot.

He saidwater was pouringinto his vehicle, that it had reached his steering wheel, and that he couldn't get out through the doors or windows.

Officers and firefighters found the vehicle andrescued the man, who was then weighed down with a $237 fine under the Highway Traffic Act for disobeying the barricades.

"We all know that there is overland flooding throughout areas of our province and that this flooding has resulted in a number of road closures," Cpl.Julie Courchaine,spokesperson for the Manitoba RCMP, stated in a news release.

"The barricades are in place to keep everyone safe. No one should ever try to bypass them under any circumstance."

St. Adolphe is one many areas along the Red River Valley that are experiencing a major spring flood, along with areas in the western and eastern regions of the province as well.

Roads, bridges and other infrastructure has been impacted across dozens of communities in thesouthern half of the province.