Parents describe young kids' dramatic flooding rescue
DALLAS -- A young couple stood helpless as floodwaters filled their truck with two young children inside -- but then guardian angels arrived.
It became a race against time after a baby and toddler were trapped inside an overturned truck in Myrtle Springs, Texas.
Their parents -- Phillip and Emily Ocheltree -- were also inside desperately calling for help.
"There were people outside, there are people here, and that's when I started screaming and yelling, 'Help, help, help us,'" Phillip Ocheltree says.
When Good Samaritans arrived, the children were nearly dead. The man filming the scene, Tom Mitchell, put his phone down to perform CPR on the little girl.
"In the name of Jesus, let em breathe, Lord," one witness can be heard can be heard saying in cellphone footage. "There she goes. There she goes."
The parents say watching the video is hard.
"As soon as they opened the door and they're like, 'How many people are in here,' I said, 'Get my kids out now,'" Emily Ocheltree says.
Both children will make a full recovery. The toddler, Addy, is still in the hospital but is stable. Her baby brother, Marshall, is back home.
Their parents credit the people who rescued them and got a chance to express their gratitude on Monday.
"Thank you so much," Emily Ocheltree said as she hugged one.
The Ocheltrees say they'd like for Addy to meet all the heroes who saved her life.
"You want to go save them, you want to help them, but me being all frantic, it's not going to help her any more than-- I wouldn't have been able to do anything. I just wanted to make sure she was OK," Emily Ocheltree says.
She says the first thing her daughter said to her was simply "Mom."
"With her eyes still closed, 'Mom,' and I was just right there, just right there waiting," Emily Ocheltree says.
