Reporter Saves Driver From Submerged Car Following Flash Flooding in Dallas

The Washington Post/Getty Images

Cameras were rolling as Fox Weather journalist Robert Ray pivoted from reporter to rescuer in flood-ravaged Dallas.

Ray was getting ready to report live on the record-breaking flooding that impacted the area when a car drove into the floodwaters Monday morning. He watched as the car quickly became engulfed in waist-deep water that had submerged part of Interstate 35.

Video of the rescue, caught by KDFW-TV, shows Ray jump into action.

After attempting to push the SUV to higher ground, he decided to pull the female driver, who was later identified as Stephanie Carroll, through the passenger-side window.

"You're going to be OK," he assured her.

On dry ground, Carroll told Ray what happened.

"I didn't see anything," she said. "I thought I was just going to drive. I go this way every day to get my daughter."

Carroll said she was terrified when she found herself caught in the floodwaters.

"I thought I was dying," she recalled to Fox Weather. "I thought I was going to die. I thought I was going to drown."

According to the National Weather Service Fort Worth, more than nine inches of rain fell at Dallas Fort Worth Airport over a 24-hour period that began Sunday—the highest rainfall the area has seen since 1932. By Monday night, the Fort Worth Fire Department had reportedly received 500 calls for service and performed 174 high water rescues and investigations. Dallas Fire Rescue had responded to 195 high water incidents and rescued 21 people and 10 dogs.

"This is a prime example, guys, of what water and flash flooding can do," Ray said. "My goodness. My heart is 'boom, boom, boom' right now. What a morning here in Dallas."