I am glad everyone got out safely. However I must ask:
WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?????
You are pregnant and have children in the car, yet you decide to drive thru "waist deep" water? I realize there was no way to determine the exact depth. However common sense should tell you NOT to drive thru a large body of water during flooding conditions.
Poor judgement put you, your family, and other's life at risk.
Fairy tales, I am so sorry that you and your children ended up in that type of a situation. It is unfortunate that with all this weather that happened. If I remember right, you are from another place and are new to AC. Always remember, unless you go slowly, never take for granted under any and all underpasses that you will encounter will be safe to drive under, and good rule of thumb would be always take it slow so you can back out in case of high water. I know that advise is too little too late but that would be a good rule of thumb. As for the city police, as ex law enforcement that has worked with many of the AC officers, I KNOW that if they felt you and your children were in any immediate danger of drowning, they would have left their posts and walked into the water to pull the children and yourself out to saftey. What some people don't know is, when an incident like this happens, they are immediatly dispatched to the area on both sides of the underpass. What their job is, to assess the situation and determine if there is an immediate danger to the victims. I know with the water rising it had to have been scary for you but it was the responsiblity of those officers to see that both ends of that underpass was blocked off and NO ONE was allowed to pass by under it to make things worse. Sometimes when situations like this arrise it is hard to understand but there are those drivers that would sometimes bypass the marked patrol cars and drive around them,they enter the danger area anyway. I know that is hard for you to believe, and would be for me as well but I have seen things like this happen many times. To me it appears that they knew someone was coming that could assist them in the endeavor to get your children and yourself to saftey and stood their posts to assure no other incident would happen. As far as your neice losing respect for police, I am sure it is up to you and your family to explain to her that one incident shouldn't marr her outlook on all officers. It is easy to be upset with them at the time as I know you were stressed and afraid. In not knowing which officer it was that was posted on the west side, there were times when as a law enforcement officer I went into extremely dangerous situations and I saw courage from these guys and trusted that they had my back. As a county law enforcement officer, somtimes county back up was miles away. They were my backup. Between the troopers and city officers, they made my job much safer. So please try to explain to your neice that those officers were more than likely not " just trying to stay dry". They were guarding their posts. Sometimes in law enforcement it is a thankless job. As for the city worker, I am glad you are giving credit where credit is due. As far as offering blankets or coats to the children. I know in my patrol car I kept blankets readily available in the trunk. That was my choice to have them in there. I was the only one that drove that car. In AC, they share vehicles so they are limited to their resourses to what is in their cars. I know if any or all of the children were in danger, blankest would have been ordered for them as the Fire department is only blocks from the area of this incident. Being summer and very humid, they probably didn't think it was needed. That may have been a downfall. for that I am sorry. I suppose in closing, good rule of thumb in weather like we have been having, always be very careful in entering low lying areas. In places like the underpass never take for granted there will be no water under them and always take them very slowly. And never drive though standing or running water as you knever know how deep is will be. If this water were deeper, it could have ended much differently. Please just be thankful you and your children made it out safely and without incident.
I am sorry you had such a rough time. Im sorry your kids were so cold in the 80 degree temperatures we had that day.
I remember a year or so ago, two cops were commended for breaking into someones house that was on fire and saving their life. I don't recall them being fired.
Why would the city employee lose his job? Did he go against orders? And why'd you drive into the water in the first place? If I've heard it once on the radio or TV this last couple of weeks, I've heard it a million times.... "don't drive into high water". I'm glad everyone was safe, and that the cops managed to stay dry... I hear they melt.
To answer everyones question I tried backing out and turn around but with the brakes wet as well as the brick, the truck started slipping further down the incline! As I was trying to back out a larger truck plowed into the water causing water to rush under our vehicle pulling it the rest of the way in.
And to answer Nacho, when you are a child and you are wet and you get out of the water do you not get chilled?
The city employee was told not to help over the radio but he did so anyways when the officer on the west side told him that he wasnt about to get into the water.
And yes I do feel guilty that I put my children at risk. It is something that I am having a very hard time dealing with. I had never intend on going into that water and I never plan on driving in rain ever again!
answer to Nacho Mama: I was there shortly after this happened. I am an adult and waded in it to my waist and that water was very cold. And for a child they will get colder than an adult much more quickly. And it wasnt 80 degrees it was only in the 70's and raining still. The rain water was cold too.
And as for thank yous: Thank you to the city employees for getting my daughter and nephews out of the vehicle and to me. Thank you to the family my neighbors) who helped get the truck started after this. And making sure the kids and my sister were ok and to the photographer who stayed till the truck started and made sure my sister was ok.
Well Fairy Tales, If hasn't lost his job already, he will now, by you posting all about it in the forum. I am sure your hero is glad you let everyone know he went against orders. I am certain he appreciates it!!!!
I owe the city employee that risked his job to rescue my kids as water rose in our vehicle under the madison underpass a huge THANK YOU! When our vehicle stalled in high water on Friday a city employee risked his job to rescue my two sons ages 1 and 3 and my neice who's 10! I called my husband on the cell phone and he contacted police who stood on either side of the underpass not helping in the rescue because they didnt want to get wet. After the city employee got the kids out of the vehicle, him and a few other city employees pushed my truck out of the waist high water while again the police did nothing. As soon as the police seen that the vehicle was out they left without making sure that everyone was okay. Meanwhile the three kids stood in the rain shivering from being wet and cold! I also owe a thank you to the Travleler photographer who was there for pictures who offered to take me to the hospital when I began cramping as I am pregant with twins. She later called to make sure that I was okay! My heart goes to those who went out of their way to rescue my kids during this very terrifying event!
My neice who has always been taught that the police were there to help her has lost her faith and trust in the police. As she stood holding my 1 year old son the officer on the west side of the underpass did nothing to help them. He never once offered to give them a coat or blanket to keep them warm! He told her that he'd help but he didnt want to get wet!
As for the city employees that rescued my family who could loose their jobs, if you do loose your jobs I am more then willing to fight for you! If the city is willing to fire them because they saved my kid's lives then the city should be ashamed!
Also I'd like to thank Lee Chamberlain for taking the kids into KOOL RIDES and letting them get warm until I could get back to them! THANK YOU TO ALL OUR HEROS!
I was mearly answering someones question. But at this point I've given up on the majority of Ark City people of having any understanding of what happend. I now wonder why I even thought anyone would care.
