Mother and 3 children rescued from raging floodwaters during dangerous downpour in Texas
Designed to revive dead batteries, jumper cables took on a new role as a lifesaving tool in this high-risk rescue.
Mother, three children rescued after car swept into floodwaters in Texas
Officers with the White Settlement Police Department responded to fast-moving floodwaters after a mother and her two children were swept into the current during a heavy downpour. The children were quickly rescued and placed safely in a police cruiser, while the mother remained inside the vehicle. Officers then deployed a pulley system to stabilize the car and safely extract her.
WHITE SETTLEMENT, Texas – A mother and three children found themselves in a life-or-death situation amid a dangerous downpour in Texas over the weekend after their car was swept into raging floodwaters.
The jaw-dropping rescue, caught on camera by heroic officers from the White Settlement Police Department, captured officers' arrival at the critical scene and the unconventional lifesaving efforts that allowed the family to safely walk away.
TORNADO TEARS THROUGH TEXAS TOWN LEAVING BEHIND A PATH OF DESTRUCTION
After intense severe storms brought heavy rain to the North Central Texas area on April 25, a typically tame drainage creek between Western Hills Boulevard in White Settlement transitioned into a ferocious river – rushing with a deadly intent.
When a family – a mother and three children – found the front of their car swept into the dangerous floodwater, first responders had to act swiftly to secure the vehicle.
With the car barely afloat on a concrete slab beside raging floodwaters, officers from the White Settlement Police Department shifted their focus to rescuing the mother after safely securing the three children traveling with her.
After the car became stuck on a dangerous ledge between the floodwaters and the road, the three children were able to exit safely—but their mother remained trapped in the path of the rushing water.
While the three children stood safely on the roadside, soaked and shaken beside the raging water, their mother remained in danger—trapped in the floodwaters, clinging to the driver’s door.
White Settlement Police Department Sgt. John Banner stepped into the line of dangerous floodwaters to assist the woman still located in the vehicle.
(White Settlement Police Department)
The car teetered on a narrow ledge—raging floodwaters on one side, powerful enough to drag it downstream, and on the other, officers working frantically to guide the woman to safety.
On the scene, Sgt. John Banner and Officer Chris Wiseman assessed the situation and determined the safest approach was for the woman to remain inside the vehicle while they pulled it out of the floodwaters and onto the road.
PHOTOS: FIREFIGHTERS RUSH TO RESCUE 3 FROM WISCONSIN HOME AMID RISING FLOODWATERS
Understanding the urgency of the dire situation, shielded by the vehicle, Sgt. Banner walked into the raging river and guided the woman back into the car, while Officer Wiseman searched for anything he could to help establish a line of connection to the vehicle.
What is usually a tame drainage creek along Western Hills Boulevard in White Settlement, Texas, transformed into a raging river as intense storms unleashed heavy rain.
(Google Maps)
Designed to revive dead batteries, jumper cables took on a new role as a lifesaving tool in this high-risk rescue.
VIOLENT EF-4 TORNADO UNLEASHES DEVASTATING DAMAGE IN ENID, OKLAHOMA
Fighting against the floodwaters to stay afloat, Sgt. Banner instructed the woman to use the jumper cables as an anchor against the raging current while the three officers held onto the other end.
In a life-or-death moment, officers forged a lifeline from the floodwaters using the only thing within reach: Jumper cables.
(White Settlement Police Department)
In life-or-death situations, composure and quick thinking can make all the difference. In this high-risk rescue, jumper cables helped officers secure the vehicle against the floodwaters, buying critical time until additional first responders could tow it to safety.