Woman pulled from flooded Shoal River (PHOTO GALLERY)

DORCAS — Emergency crews rescued a woman whose car was swept into Shoal River on Friday after she went around a barricade blocking a flooded road, an official on scene said.

View a photo gallery from the scene »

The incident occurred about 8 a.m. on County Road 393 at the Shoal River bridge about a quarter-mile south of Poverty Creek Road.

The river had overflowed its banks, and the water was over the road and up to the bridge’s guardrails when the woman tried to cross, Dorcas Fire Chief Josh Lingenfelter said.

“She went around the bar-ricades, tried to cross and got in trouble,” Lingenfelter said. “A neighbor on top of a nearby hill walked down (to the river) and saw her.”

The woman stood on her submerged car and clung to a pine tree for an hour before rescuers were able to get her out.

“I could hear her calling for help,” Lingenfelter said.

Dorcas firefighters, officers with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Com-mission and Okaloosa County’s swift-water response team responded to scene.

About 9 a.m., FWC officers Eddie Gatlin and Mark Hollinhead reached the woman by boat and took her to safety. Dorcas volunteer firefighter Josh Cooper and North Okaloosa firefighter Danny Worrells assisted in the rescue.

The woman, who has not been identified, was wearing a Department of Corrections uniform and declined medical treatment.

“All I need is a ride home,” she told rescuers.

The water still had not re-ceded by 3 p.m. Friday, when three people in a truck and a man in a sport utility vehicle went around the barricades and crossed the bridge.

“It’s a big problem,” Lingenfelter said. “We put those barricades up for a reason.”

By 4:45 p.m., the water level had dropped below the bridge top, but Okaloosa County officials said they would not reopen the road until after it is inspected today.