Man Dies In Flood Water In Garland
Follow CBSDFW.COM: Facebook | Twitter
GARLAND (CBS11) — A Wylie man died after he drove onto a flooded roadway Friday morning.
It happened at an intersection in Garland near Brand and East Campbell, which authorities say is prone to flooding. There were barricades up at the intersection later in the day, but that wasn't the case early Friday morning.
A man who was driving to work drowned in his car, despite his call for help.
His car had been swept away by flood waters, but 29-year-old Benjamin Floyd was still able to call 911 around 6:20 Friday morning.
"He told the 911 that water was coming in the vehicle, and he tried to get in the back seat to exit the vehicle, and then they lost contact with him," Capt. George Winton of the Garland Fire Department said.
By the time a rescue unit arrived, the vehicle was underwater.
"It's very sad," Winton said. "Any loss of life, and especially when we know that we had contact with him at one time. It's just sad that this had to happen."
Now the Floyd family is grieving the loss of a husband and father of a 4-year-old son. They say Floyd was on his way to work at Target when he died — his second job to support the family he loved.
Authorities say this tragedy is a reminder that flood waters can be deceptively deep and strong. They say they erect barricades as quickly as possible, especially in low-lying areas such as this. But in this case, they came too late.
"They been called for as I understand, but it just takes time to get the barricades put up," Winton said.
There were other rescues in Garland this morning. One was at the same intersection where Floyd died. In that case, crews were able to rescue two people.
(©2015 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)