This mail vehicle, driven by Ryan Bear of Lampasas, got pushed down Lucy Creek after the sport-utility vehicle was swept off a low-water crossing Friday. The mail carrier was uninjured. Below, Adamsville Volunteer Fire Department Deputy Chief Antony Elton climbed atop the vehicle to retrieve the mail, which he then passed to the waiting hands of volunteer firefighter James Shurtleff. A mail carrier avoided injury Friday when his sport-utility vehicle got stuck at a low-water crossing on Lucy Creek.

High water on County Road 3420 between Lampasas and Adamsville swept the SUV down the south side of the crossing about noon, said Gordon Hyatt, Adamsville Volunteer Fire Department chief.

“The water was just too high for that small SUV,” Hyatt said, “and really, I don’t think any vehicle could have made it across that low-water crossing.”

The vehicle, driven by 23-year-old Ryan Bear of Lampasas, became entangled about 10 or 15 feet south of the crossing, Hyatt said, and the mail carrier was able to climb to safety on the creek bank.

PHOTOS BY CHRISTIE ALLEN About a half-dozen firefighters from the Adamsville Volunteer Fire Department reached the scene in two fire trucks, and Hyatt responded in his vehicle. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department game warden Jeff Hill also responded to the scene.

Firefighters Antony Elton and James Shurtleff retrieved all mail from the SUV, except for one box that had gotten soaked, Hyatt said.

“His main concern was the mail in the vehicle,” the fire chief said of the mail carrier. “He wasn’t too concerned about the vehicle.”

A wrecker from Jim Hoffpauir Inc. pulled the SUV out of the creek after Adamsville VFD firefighter Justin Cline hooked a chain to the vehicle, and another carrier finished the mail delivery route.

The Lampasas Fire Department and Lampasas County Sheriff’s Department also responded to calls about the incident. LFD firefighters had to take a circuitous route because of flooded roads, however, and the incident was resolved before they reached CR 3420, Hyatt said.