3 Killed In Floods Caused By Heavy Storms
Posted: Sat May 01, 2004 10:44 am
FORT WORTH, Texas (KXAS TV) -- At least three people died and three toddlers were missing after their vehicles were caught in floodwaters as heavy thunderstorms moved through parts of North Texas.
Fort Worth Fire Department spokesman Lt. Kent Worley said a woman and her 2 1/2-year-old son died after floodwaters swept her car from the road. Firefighters were searching Saturday morning for the woman's 1 1/2-year-old son, who family members said should also have been with his mother.
At least two witnesses saw the car as it was being swept away, NBC 5 reported. It happened at about 9:30 p.m. Friday when the woman who was driving the car tried to go through a low-water crossing filled with raging floodwaters.
In Corsicana, about 50 miles southeast of Dallas, two vehicles were caught up in floodwaters just after midnight, Police Sgt. Lewis Palos said.
Two children -- ages 1 and 2 -- were swept away along with the vehicle they were traveling in when it stalled on a bridge at a low-water crossing, Palos said. Their father was trying to get them out of the vehicle when it was carried away, Palos said.
"We have not found the car or the children yet," Palos said early Saturday morning.
Also in Corsicana, a vehicle traveling on an Interstate 45 service road was crossing a small bridge when it was swept against a guard rail by rising waters. The driver and passenger both got out, but the passenger -- an adult male -- was swept away. His body was found Saturday morning, Palos said.
A line of thunderstorms packing winds as high as 60 mph moved through North Texas on Friday night. Besides flooding streets, the storm knocked down tree limbs and power lines around the Dallas-Fort Worth area, but no serious property damage was reported.
The National Weather Service received several reports of hail, including some that were the size of golf balls. Palos said that there was a lot of flooding around Corsicana, forcing authorities to close part of Interstate 45 for a brief period overnight, Palo said.
In Fort Worth, Worley said the woman apparently had stopped at a low-water crossing but proceeded after a van passed her and made it safely through.
"She was immediately caught up in the water," he said. The car was swept from the road, down through a drainage ditch that empties into Sycamore Creek. Worley said the car became caught up in some trees about 75 to 100 yards downstream.
Johnny Campbell, 22, tried to reach the woman's car to help. He wrapped a tow chain around his waist and had three people hold it as he waded in waist-high water toward the car.
"I saw her banging on the window and screaming for someone to help her," Campbell told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram for Saturday's edition. "When I got to the car, I touched her hand, but water swept the car away, down into the creek."
"In a matter of seconds, the rush of the water moved the car," Worley said. It was dislodged from the trees and swept another 100 feet or so where it became lodged against a large cast-iron pipeline. Worley said the child was found inside. His mother was outside the car and lodged against the pipeline.
Bystanders said the intersection often floods during heavy rain.
Fort Worth Fire Department spokesman Lt. Kent Worley said a woman and her 2 1/2-year-old son died after floodwaters swept her car from the road. Firefighters were searching Saturday morning for the woman's 1 1/2-year-old son, who family members said should also have been with his mother.
At least two witnesses saw the car as it was being swept away, NBC 5 reported. It happened at about 9:30 p.m. Friday when the woman who was driving the car tried to go through a low-water crossing filled with raging floodwaters.
In Corsicana, about 50 miles southeast of Dallas, two vehicles were caught up in floodwaters just after midnight, Police Sgt. Lewis Palos said.
Two children -- ages 1 and 2 -- were swept away along with the vehicle they were traveling in when it stalled on a bridge at a low-water crossing, Palos said. Their father was trying to get them out of the vehicle when it was carried away, Palos said.
"We have not found the car or the children yet," Palos said early Saturday morning.
Also in Corsicana, a vehicle traveling on an Interstate 45 service road was crossing a small bridge when it was swept against a guard rail by rising waters. The driver and passenger both got out, but the passenger -- an adult male -- was swept away. His body was found Saturday morning, Palos said.
A line of thunderstorms packing winds as high as 60 mph moved through North Texas on Friday night. Besides flooding streets, the storm knocked down tree limbs and power lines around the Dallas-Fort Worth area, but no serious property damage was reported.
The National Weather Service received several reports of hail, including some that were the size of golf balls. Palos said that there was a lot of flooding around Corsicana, forcing authorities to close part of Interstate 45 for a brief period overnight, Palo said.
In Fort Worth, Worley said the woman apparently had stopped at a low-water crossing but proceeded after a van passed her and made it safely through.
"She was immediately caught up in the water," he said. The car was swept from the road, down through a drainage ditch that empties into Sycamore Creek. Worley said the car became caught up in some trees about 75 to 100 yards downstream.
Johnny Campbell, 22, tried to reach the woman's car to help. He wrapped a tow chain around his waist and had three people hold it as he waded in waist-high water toward the car.
"I saw her banging on the window and screaming for someone to help her," Campbell told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram for Saturday's edition. "When I got to the car, I touched her hand, but water swept the car away, down into the creek."
"In a matter of seconds, the rush of the water moved the car," Worley said. It was dislodged from the trees and swept another 100 feet or so where it became lodged against a large cast-iron pipeline. Worley said the child was found inside. His mother was outside the car and lodged against the pipeline.
Bystanders said the intersection often floods during heavy rain.