Dramatic water rescue caught on video
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Glen Carbon, IL (KMOV) — A 70-year-old grandmother and two of her grandchildren were rescued Sunday after the car they were riding in was swamped by flash floodwaters in Glen Carbon.
The woman and two children were riding on Highway 162 near Highway 157 when the Judy Branch Creek swelled over its banks and covered the road.
Heavy rain fell across the region Saturday night into Sunday morning.
Mike and Tara Wilson, along with their two children, were returning from a camping trip when they came upon the flooded road. Mike said he had no hesitation about stopping to help.
“Once we saw them, I knew we had to approach the situation and help them out,” he said.
The Wilson’s were riding in a Ford F-350 pickup, which has a higher ground clearance. Tara said Mike was only wearing flip-flops and took them off before wading barefoot into the swift water and its strong current.
“Oh it was rough, it was a tough fight,” he said.
One of the Wilson’s children recorded on a cellphone as Mike pulled the two children, one-at-a-time, through the window of the car. He carried each on his shoulder before putting them through the window of his pickup.
“I just pretty much grabbed each of the kids legs and pulled them in as fast as possible. Put the little girl on the driver’s seat and the little boy on the center console, and rubbed their backs because they were both pretty upset and crying,” said Tara Wilson.
On video, Mike is seen walking the grandmother through the swirling brown water from her car to the Wilson’s vehicle. He said he didn’t want to injure her by carrying her.
Mike and Tara told News 4 they stopped to help firefighters with two other water rescuers before finally getting the grandmother and her two grandchildren to dry ground.
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