Walker County water rescue teams respond to yet another rescue in the same location.
In what has become an all too familiar routine, Walker County emergency personnel were again dispatched Tuesday afternoon to reports of a vehicle trapped in Bedias Creek floodwaters.
A small car had driven around barricades and a road closed sign placed by TxDOT to warn drivers. The vehicle continued to almost the same point as another water rescue that occurred early Tuesday morning, some 12 hours earlier. County water rescue personnel and equipment were dispatched to the scene where they entered the water and extricated the driver, leaving her car next to one from an earlier rescue.
In the previous rescue at 4am Tuesday morning, Walker County emergency personnel were dispatched to rescue a driver that had disregarded the barricades and made it almost to the swiftest part of the floodwaters. Fortunately, the car died before being swept off the road, avoiding a potentially life-threatening situation. While water rescues are inherently risky, there are even more dangerous at night. A water rescue team boarded a high water truck operated by the New Waverly Fire Department and were able to reach the driver and rescue her, leaving her vehicle behind in the floodwaters.
Over the past several years, a number of similar rescues have shared a common theme. Drivers, either unaware of the danger or misreading the depth of the water, have driven into floodwaters and required rescue. While most of them have been quickly rescued, lives have been lost on more than one occasion during major flood events in the county. During sudden or major flood events, not all high water areas may be barricaded and drivers should never rely on the absence or presence of barricades as an indication of whether or not it is safe to drive into high water. This is especially true at night when its difficult to see the roadway and determine the depth of the water.
Due to the number of low water crossings and flood related incidents, a number of Walker County emergency personnel are trained and equipped for water rescues. The New Waverly Fire Department operates three water rescue boats and a high water transport truck and responds as part of a coordinated effort whenever there is a water rescue incident. Both the Huntsville Fire and Police Departments have trained water rescue personnel and equipment as do other County Fire Departments. While emergency personnel do have the ability to respond to water rescues, the best advice is to avoid the need to be rescued and never drive into water over the roadway. In addition to risking their life and the lives of others, drivers who do not heed barricades or warning signs can be arrested and face fines up to $2,000.
New Waverly 