PLYMOUTH — A 16-year-old Tippecanoe driver had the ride of her life late Monday night.

Paige Whybrew, 16, of Tippecanoe, was driving north on Elm Road, south of 18B Road, at 11:40 p.m. Monday when a deer ran in front of her 1990 Cadillac Eldorado, police said.

Whybrew told police she swerved to avoid hitting the deer but ran off the road, sliding into the end of the guardrail over a bridge. The vehicle came to rest on the edge of the concrete portion of the bridge and the river bank, police said.

A family member tried to pull Whybrew and the car back onto the road with a pickup truck using a tow strap, police said. The strap snapped and Whybrew’s car then went into the river, floating some 100 feet until coming to a stop.

Whybrew complained of pain to her ribs and was treated by Multi-Township EMS but refused transport to a hospital, police said.

Assisting at the scene were Bourbon police, Tippecanoe firefighters and Reichert/Knepp towing.