A young woman feared she would die in her water-filled car after it crashed off a rain lashed road and rolled 40ft into Loch Ness.
Katarzyna Adamska survived the terror ordeal thanks to a courageous rescue operation by a local man, who heard her cries for help after she careered off the A82 Inverness to Fort William road.
Last night, the 27-year-old said she wanted to thank Jeff Dymond for saving her life after he dragged her from the flood-swollen Alltsigh river at the mouth of the loch.
“I have never been so grateful in all my life,” she said.
“I didn’t think I would make it out of that car alive.”
Ms Adamska – a paralegal with an Inverness firm of solicitors – was being comforted by her partner Martin Paterson, 32, at her home in the city’s Laurel Avenue last night.
Nursing cuts and bruises, she relived the previous night’s ordeal, which happened when her black Renault Clio somersaulted down a rock-strewn slope before landing upside down in the river.
“I was heading to Inverness and approaching a bend when I noticed a big puddle,” she said.
“I couldn’t avoid it and the car hit the verge. It flipped over and started rolling down the embankment towards the water.
“I thought the trees would stop me but they didn’t and I ended up upside down in the river. The car started filling up with water immediately and I started to panic.
“I couldn’t get the seatbelt open and I was running out of air as the car filled up. It was so dark. I tried the sunroof and was kicking the windows.
“One of the windows must have been damaged in the fall, and I managed to kick the glass out and get out and held on to what I thought was the roof, but it was the floor of the car.
“I grabbed onto a wheel and thought I might be able to swim to the side and grab a tree before the water swept me away, but I was freezing cold and my hands and body were numb. It must have been fear as well.”
The noise from the crash alerted self-employed environmental consultant Mr Dymond and his wife Connie, who live nearby.
When he looked over the bridge, Mr Dymond saw the driver “clinging on for dear life”.
The 56-year-old initially tried to wade through the icy waist deep water, but thick vegetation stopped him from getting close.
He raced back to his house and returned with a life ring and rope, while his wife called 999.
When Mr Dymond threw the ring from the bridge, it failed to reach the stricken woman and he was forced to improvise.
He said: “I found a canvas strop on the grass, tied it to the rope and again threw the ring. This time it reached her and she jumped on to it and I pulled her across.
“She was very cold and it must have been terrifying. It could have easily turned out worse. ”
His wife added: “We have had quite a bit of experience phoning the emergency services for crashes on the A82, but that’s the worst scenario I have ever seen.”
Emergency services arrived to help Ms Adamska to a waiting ambulance.
The Loch Ness lifeboat was also launched, but was stood down when news of her dramatic rescue got through.
Ms Adamska said she owed Mr Dymond her life.
“Jeff made two attempts at saving me and thankfully the second one was successful,” she said.
“The first time he tried to wade over to me but the water was too fast. He kept talking to me to keep me calm. I was really scared. I didn’t want to be left alone.
“I am a strong swimmer but I didn’t want to try it. Jeff came back and threw me the lifeline from the bridge. At first it was too far away from me to reach and I didn’t have the courage to swim for it. so I waited for it to be swept closer to me and thankfully it did.
“I grabbed it and Jeff told me to hold on. He clambered down to the rocks and he pulled me to safety.
“I have never been so grateful in all my life, but I never got the chance to thank him for saving my life.
“I have his phone number and I will thank him personally for getting me out of that river alive.”