Homeless Man Rolls Into Spokane River While Sleeping Under Bridge

Spokane emergency crews were able to rescue the man, who fortunately woke up from the shock of the cold water.

In one of the more bizarre stories in the Northwest recently, Spokane police report Saturday afternoon the unidentified man had been sleeping underneath the Mission Street bridge that crosses the sometimes angry waters of the Spokane River.

Especially in later winter and early spring, the waters can be fast moving. The man apparently rolled all the way down the hill, into the water, and was able to grab onto a tree branch sticking out from the shore.  Had he not grabbed the branch, the current would have carried him at least another mile before he could have possibly gotten out, as the river splits around an island further downstream.

He was spotted by someone in a nearby apartment complex, and fire crews responded. He was treated for extreme hypothermia.