In Erath County, a mother and two young children died when they were swept away by flood waters this morning. The children's father survived and was found nearby clinging to a tree.
The Erath County Sheriff's Office got the call around 5:30 Wednesday morning that a car had been swept into a creek by fast-moving flood waters.
When they got to the scene just south of Dublin, water had crossed over the road on FM 1702. Rescue crews, including neighbors who lived nearby, found Monica Valdez dead inside the family's car, the bodies of her two young children were found swept downstream.
The children's father survived and was rescued nearby. He has since been treated and released from the hospital.
“In that tragedy I lost everything, and it’s something I don’t wish on anyone," said Geraldo Ramirez.
Ramirez says his family was on the way to the dentist driving a route they'd gone several times before.
He hopes barriers will now be added to prevent another family from living his tragedy.
The Sheriff's Office said several inches of rain fell overnight and that the water at the scene was moving very fast when they arrived, a reminder of how quickly flash flooding moves and just how devastating it can be.
