In the wake of the intense monsoon rains on Thursday, July 25, city crews were busy conducting nearly a dozen water rescues .
This included an effort to save the driver and two passengers of a U-Haul truck. The vehicle got stuck while trying to pass through a Southside street near a wash.
Debris lined South 16th Avenue on the morning of July 26th, a clear remnant of the previous night’s storm.
Hector Lopez, a resident of the southside, described the scene. “The water coming through here to this corner was full, like six, seven-feet high,” he said. “In the truck, there was one lady, one guy and a little girl.”
Lopez took action by alerting paramedics. “I put the flashlight to the paramedic,” he said. “I said ‘you guys, those people right there need help’.”
The paramedics, with the help of a large truck and ropes, worked for about three hours to rescue the trapped individuals.
Eventually, the rescue operation was successful, and all individuals were brought to safety.
Lopez noted that the wash frequently floods, and local residents know to avoid it. “The people living here, we spare that area,” he said. “But people not living here, they try to cross.”