- Do you know this good Samaritan? Email martha.williams@mailonline.com
A good Samaritan heroically rescued a child and his father from their car just moments before it floated away during Southern California’s flash floods.
Neighborhoods in Southern California were doused with several inches of rain and flash flooding on Thursday, leaving vehicles stranded on flooded roads.
Just off the entrance to the 101 freeway in Santa Barbara – a BMW sedan was engulfed by rainwater from the flash floods, leaving its passengers stranded in the middle of a gigantic and deep puddle of water.
Luckily – a good Samaritan in a much larger truck came to the rescue and managed to scoop the child and his father out of the BMW and into his Toyota Tundra.
Video footage shows the moment that the hero carefully pulled the casualties to safety through the passenger seat window of his car.
A good Samaritan heroically rescued a child and his father from their car just moments before it floated away during Southern California’s flash floods
Neighborhoods in Southern California were doused with several inches of rain and flash flooding on Thursday, leaving vehicles stranded on flooded roads
Just off the entrance to the 101 freeway in Santa Barbara – a BMW sedan was engulfed by rainwater from the flash floods, leaving its passengers stranded in the middle of a gigantic and deep puddle of water
Luckily – a good Samaritan in a much larger truck came to the rescue and managed to scoop the child and his father out of the BMW and into his Toyota Tundra.
The truck then managed to wade through the deep water and escape the dramatic puddle.
Forecasters had predicted that the most dangerous conditions would start to make an impact on Wednesday afternoon through Friday in Southern California.
The National Weather Service said in a severe weather alert that chances of thunderstorms and lighting would be ‘favorable’ and even suggested the potential of a ‘short-lived’ tornado.
Between midnight and 1 am local time on Thursday, the storm dumped 3.18 inches of rainfall in downtown Oxnard, surpassing the area’s average of 2.56 inches for the entire month of December, according to the National Weather Service.
Counties northwest of Los Angeles County were also hit overnight, swamping areas in the cities of Port Hueneme, Oxnard and Santa Barbara, where a police detective carried a woman on his back after the SUV she was riding in got stuck in knee-deep floodwaters.
Later in the morning, streets began filling with water in parts of Santa Barbara as the storm delivered another deluge.
By midday, the rain and wind had eased and residents ventured outside to inspect the damage.
By late afternoon, the city of Port Hueneme had lifted evacuation orders for residences on four streets.
About 60 houses were affected by the orders, all in a senior citizen community, said Andy VanSciver, a Ventura County fire spokesperson. An evacuation center was set up at a college gymnasium.
The truck finally managed to wade through the deep water and escape the dramatic puddle
Between midnight and 1 a.m. local time, the storm dumped 3.18 inches of rainfall in downtown Oxnard, surpassing the area’s average of 2.56 inches for the entire month of December
Santa Barbara Police Department detective Bryce Ford helps a motorist out of her car on a flooded street during a rainstorm
A man walks past a submerged vehicle on a flooded street in Santa Barbara
The major rainstorm is expected to hit Southern California late Wednesday and possibly go until Saturday morning. Downpours have already reached San Francisco on Tuesday
Three people from the senior community were taken to hospitals out of an abundance of caution, and there were multiple rescues of drivers from flooded vehicles, he said.
The city of Oxnard stated in a social media post that many streets and intersections were heavily impacted.
‘Please stay off the city streets for the next several hours until the water recedes,’ the post said.
Meanwhile, Californians were gearing up for holiday travel and finishing preparations for Christmas.
The Automobile Club of Southern California predicted 9.5 million people in the region would travel during the year-end holiday period.