Best friends rescue drivers stranded in flooded Sanford intersection; county officials urge caution
Best friends rescue drivers stranded in flooded Sanford intersection
When heavy rains inundated parts of Seminole County on Sunday, a half-mile stretch along North Oregon Street and State Road 46 turned into a dangerous waterway.
SANFORD, Fla. - When heavy rains inundated parts of Seminole County on Sunday, a half-mile stretch along North Oregon Street and State Road 46 turned into a dangerous waterway.
While most drivers made the smart choice to turn around, several vehicles became stranded in the rising floodwaters. However, two best friends driving by in lifted trucks refused to leave them behind.
Chance Major and Bradley Hager were driving through Sanford when they spotted a Subaru submerged in the high water. Equipped with heavy-duty tow straps, the pair jumped out of their trucks and waded directly into the knee-deep water.
Major even swam underwater to hook a tow strap to one of the stalled vehicles. Together, the duo pulled a driver to safety and towed his car all the way to his home. They then helped another family get their vehicle out before emergency crews arrived on the scene.
What they're saying:
Shortly after the rescues, the Seminole County Sheriff's Office and county stormwater crews arrived at the intersection just before 6:30 p.m. to block off the flooded roadway to prevent further incidents.
"It was up to my knees. Unfortunately, I had sweatpants on. We weren't in the best attire for the moment. I had to swim under the car to get it tied up to where I could, you know, have a position to pull him out," said Major, on stepping in to rescue stranded motorists. "If we have the means to help, there's no reason not to. I mean, it's the Lord's work. It's the least we could do if we have the equipment to do it. Why not? I mean, I'd hope someone does the same if I was in the predicament."
"When we left his neighborhood, we saw it was a Subaru. The first one that we saw, it was underwater, and our first thought was to go get the car. We were like, man, like if we were in that predicament, we would want someone to do the same thing for us," said Bradley Hagerm on helping out of kindness. "We didn't do it for any praise or any recognition about it. We just do it out of the kindness of our hearts. But we enjoy helping people."
"So just about six inches of water and a vehicle can slide into that ditch on the side. Now the water is into the car and the car is submerging. So we don’t want that type of thing to happen," said Alan Harris, Seminole County Emergency Manager, on hidden flood hazards.
What's next:
More rain is expected across Central Florida, keeping already saturated roads and low-lying areas at an elevated risk for sudden flooding.
Emergency management officials are urging residents to sign up for their county’s emergency notification system, including Alert Seminole, OCFL Alert and Alert Osceola. The services provide real-time warnings about flooded roads, severe weather and other emergencies.
Homeowners and renters are also encouraged to review their insurance coverage. Standard homeowners and renters insurance policies typically do not cover flood damage, which generally requires a separate flood insurance policy.
The Source: This story was written based on information shared by Alan Harris, Seminole County Emergency Manager, Chance Major and Bradley Hager.