The driver of an SUV that ran off a bridge and into the water below Saturday blamed the accident on a squirrel darting into the road. Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department deputies and North Webster EMS and fireman responded Saturday to a report of a vehicle that had driven off a bridge and into the water near the Barbee Landing on Barbee Lake Road. Officers arrived shortly after the 5:23 p.m. call and found a white, 2000 Jeep Cherokee SUV that had traveled into the south edge of the channel, landing on its side. According to a KCSD release, initial investigation by deputies determined that the driver, identified as Shelby Jewell Pontius, 18, Warsaw, was heading northbound on Barbee Lake Road. Pontius told deputies her attention was distracted by a squirrel that had run onto the roadway, and she drove off the pavement and onto the bridge guardrail, eventually overturning into the channel between Big Barbee and Little Barbee lakes. Officers stated that an off-duty Cool Springs Fireman, identified as Nathan Stewart Maibauer, 24, Michigan City, had been fishing near the bridge. Maibauer responded to the accident by entering the water and breaking out the rear window to help Pontius out of the SUV. Pontius refused medical treatment by North Webster medics. The Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department was assisted at the scene by the North Webster EMS/Fire Department, North Webster Police Department, Indiana Conservation Officers and the Kosciusko County Dive Team.
