Two men spend more than eight hours in stuck pickup

David Chaffin, 21, of Hawks was driving home with a friend early Saturday morning. It?s a trip that takes him less than half an hour most nights.

It wasn?t your typical night on the road, though, as Chaffin and Jacob Hentkowski were on their way to Chaffin?s home when they became stuck right in the middle of Kapalla Road in what may be the worst late-season storm to ever hit Presque Isle County. Chaffin was only two miles from his Lake Augusta Highway home, but couldn?t budge free from the four foot snow drifts that encompassed his vehicle. He couldn?t get out, and nobody could come and get him. The Presque Isle County Road Commission had pulled its vehicles from the roads because of poor visibility a several hours before, so they were on their own. They thought briefly about walking the two miles, but wisely they stayed put.

CHAFFIN DRIVES a 1996 GMC Sierra pickup with a snowplow blade on front and he realized there was a growing problem when the plow was up, and the snow was coming over it.

?It (snow) was up to my windows, four feet around, and I could barely get the doors open,? said Chaffin. When did he realize he might be spending the night there?

?Right after I noticed there was no trail behind me,? he said. ?Within an hour, the trail behind me was gone. It was right back up to the top.? Chaffin said they decided to give up at 2 a.m. after getting out and digging with their hands. They were completely soaked, so they felt it would be best to leave the vehicle on and wait until daylight when someone could dig them out.

That didn?t occur until after 9 a.m. when Peggy Pittner, David?s mother, called the Presque Isle County Sheriff? Department, which in turn contacted the road commission. A short time later Chaffin was pulled free by the road commission truck, and the young men were on their way to less cramped spaces, inside a warm house.

CHAFFIN HAD a cellular p

hone with him and was in contact with family members, or it should be said, his mother was in contact with the young men often. ?I called every hour,? said Peggy. ?It was a very, very long night,? Pittner said of her experience. ?It was more of an adventure for them.? Chaffin, between phone calls, said he ?slept good.? Throughout their ordeal, Chaffin?s vehicle burned only a quarter of a tank of gas, which was a nice surprise. ?It wasn?t too bad,? said Chaffin of the experience…other than having it snow like crazy, being surrounded by snow, while being stuck in the middle of the road for nearly nine hours.