A pickup driver who risked driving through Houston floodwaters had to be rescued Tuesday.
A live traffic cam on the San Jacinto Bridge showed the pickup driver and a passenger sitting on top of the submerged truck waiting to be rescued.
The truck was in an area near Grand Parkway where water levels continued to rise Tuesday from the remnants of Hurricane Harvey.
“These people are stranded in this pickup truck because they drove into this area which is something we’ve been advising people not to do,” an ABC 13 Houston reporter said as she watched the live traffic cam video (see video below).
A few moments later, a boat is seen pulling up to the truck and rescuing two people.
Other people who have attempted to drive through rising floodwaters in the Houston area haven’t been as lucky. News broke this afternoon that a Houston police officer drowned in his patrol car while attempting to find a safe way to get to work. Sgt. Steve Perez, 60, had told his wife “I’ve got work to do,” when she had asked him to stay home. Perez, a 34-year veteran with the Houston police, drowned after making a wrong turn in the pre-dawn hours on Sunday. His body was recovered today.
Also on Sunday, a family of six is assumed to have drowned after the van they were riding in was swept away by flood currents.
Four children and their great-grandparents could not escape from the van as strong currents pulled it into Greens Bayou where it began sinking fast, according to foxnews.com.
The driver of the van survived. He is the children’s great uncle. He said he told the kids and their great-grandparents to escape through the rear door of the van, but it sank too quickly.
Authorities said they would have to wait for the flood waters to recede before searching for their bodies.
JUST IN: People trapped on top of vehicle on SH 99 at San Jacinto Bridge as the water rises. High water locations: https://t.co/MflGXyUUKD pic.twitter.com/NQCQ5LNmHW
— ABC13 Houston (@abc13houston) August 29, 2017
