Driver Rescued from High Water on Riverside Trail in Temple

Central Texas got a long overdue drenching Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning, and while the rain was very much welcome, it also caused some hazardous driving conditions.

Shortly before 5:30 AM Wednesday, Temple Fire & Rescue's Special Operations Team was dispatched to a call about a vehicle in a creek in the area of 3237 Riverside Trail. The driver had tried to cross a portion of the road flooded by flowing water, and his vehicle was quickly swept from the roadway.

Fortunately, the driver was able to escape his car and stand atop it, and a Temple F&R swift water team was able to rescue him. No injuries were reported.

Due to the overgrowth of trees and other vegetation in that area and an expected second wave of storms, firefighters said the car would have to remain in the creek until crews can safely remove it.

"We would like to remind you that flowing water can be dangerous, and deadly," Public Information Officer Santos Soto wrote in an email Wednesday morning. Soto wants to remind the public that just 6 inches of fast moving water is enough to sweep an adult off their feet, and 12 inches of fast moving water can sweep away a passenger car.

No matter what you're driving, it's never a good idea to try to drive through a flooded area. Even if your vehicle is larger than a standard passenger car, water can still be sucked into the engine's intake, stalling or even damaging it.

Even huge vehicles like school buses can easily be swept away. I'm always reminded of the footage of a school bus being washed into Brushy Creek in Leander back in 2018 (embedded below). In that case, the driver and a 12-year-old passenger had to be rescued and were lucky to make it out alive.

Remember that catchy slogon: "Turn Around, Don't Drown."