Emergency responders rescued a mother and daughter trapped on top of their car by high waters in Ellis County overnight Monday into Tuesday.
The mother, Maria Estrada, told NBC 5 her daughter was taking her to work where she is a store clerk at an Italy gas station when they unknowingly drove into high water. Their car ended up tipping up against a tree.
In those moments, Estrada said she thought she was going to die. Her daughter climbed out onto the hood of the car and instructed Estrada to do the same. Estrada told NBC 5 that she climbed into the window of the car and held on to a branch.
Forreston volunteer firefighters, along with Waxahachie Fire and Rescue and Red Oak Fire and Rescue, worked together to bring the two women to safety.
“We only had one way to get them and it was like a one-shot deal,” Red Oak Fire Chief Eric Thompson said. “The vehicle was on top of a barbed wire fence and a stump had stopped it. If anything went wrong it could have had a bad outcome.”
According to Waxahachie Battalion Chief John Rodgers, the water was eight to 10 feet deep at times. Rodgers said a Forreston volunteer firefighter was able to make it to the car and waited with the mother and daughter until specially trained teams from Waxahachie and Red Oak could arrive.
“The car was about 300 feet off the roadway, so it was hard to access,” said Thompson.
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Red Oak Fire and Rescue, which has 17 swift water rescue technicians, sent men into the water. Rodgers said firefighters extended a 105-foot ladder from a Waxahachie fire truck and anchored a rope to the end, which allowed the men to safely reach the vehicle.
“We like to have two or three safeties to back us up and we were just unable to do anything downstream,” Rodgers said. “In case something did go wrong, there were no options there and that increased the danger.”
According to Thompson, swift water technicians train for rescues just like this, even going to New Braunfels for training.
“Swift water is very dangerous,” Thompson said. “You could have trees, foreign objects from who knows where. It’s very dangerous.”
Estrada told NBC 5 she feels as though God and the rescuers have given her a second chance, and she hopes God protects the firefighters who saved her life.
“I’m very proud of them,” Thompson said. “They’re trained. They do this every day. It’s what we sign up for. We’re community servants.”
Estrada said she could still feel the fear hours after her water rescue. She remained at Baylor Medical Center in Waxahachie Tuesday night being treated for hypothermia.
She said she thinks this is her second chance to be with her children more, to love them more. She’s a mother of four. Not only is she praying to God and gratitude, but for the firefighters who saved her life.
“Thank so much for everything, and for helping for my daughter, and me, and God bless you forever,” Estrada said to first responders from her hospital bed.
