New York State Officials Rescue Family in SUV Who Went Off Embankment

Firefighters, law enforcement, and New York State DEC officials recently teamed up to help a family who had gone off-road while traveling upstate. The family was riding in an SUV that went off an embankment, that require a multi-department response to assure their safe recovery.

According to the New York State DEC website, in 2025, DEC Forest Rangers conducted 362 search and rescue missions, extinguished 202 wildfires covering 840 acres, participated in 68 prescribed fires that served to rejuvenate 1,649 acres of land, and worked on cases that resulted in more than 1,100 tickets and arrests.

Also in 2025, 41 Forest Rangers were deployed to fire assignments in 10 different states, according to their website numbers.

New York State Officials Rescue Family in SUV Who Went Off Embankment

The NY State DEC recently posted on their Facebook page that on January 11, a forest ranger responded to a call for a car over an embankment on South Hill Road in the Town of Thurston, in Steuben County.

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Ranger Dormer and a member of the Thurston Fire Department located the vehicle and learned that, in addition to the adult driver and passenger in the front, there was also a child in the backseat.

The two rescuers quickly removed the child from the vehicle and checked them over to ensure they were uninjured and warm enough. The Savona Fire Department and New York State Police joined the ranger to help stabilize the vehicle with straps so they could safely remove the driver and passenger.

The New York DEC says that rescuers reunited the family, and a bulldozer pulled the SUV up the icy hill.