A Raleigh man escaped injury today after his sport utility vehicle and boat trailer plunged into the Roanoke River.

Left, Wood watches. Right, a diver begins the recovery effort.

Lester Wood said the boat was put in the water and he was releasing the emergency brake of his Yukon from outside the vehicle when it rolled back into the water.

Wood said he was trapped by the open door of the Yukon but managed to escape injury as the vehicle rolled into the water about 50 feet from where he and family members put in at the Weldon Boat Landing.

“We came to do a little shad and striper fishing,” Wood, a blanket wrapped around his shoulders, said.

He said he comes to Weldon a couple of times each spring. “I might give up fishing from a boat after this.”

Emergency responders received the call shortly before 12:45 p.m.

Law enforcement dispatched a tow truck from Redwine’s Garage and Roanoke Valley Rescue Squad divers hooked the cable to Yukon beneath the water.

The SUV and boat trailer were completely out of the water shortly after 2:30 p.m.