A teen girl from California was rescued after powerful floodwaters pushed her vehicle off the road and submerged it in around eight feet of water, forcing her to stand on top of the vehicle for over an hour in freezing water before help arrived.
Eighteen-year-old Lizbeth Hernandez was already experiencing numbness in her legs when she was rescued on the morning of Friday, March 10, in Watsonville, Santa Cruz County.
The teenager, who spoke only Spanish and did not know how to swim, had to be rescued using a floatation device similar to a surfboard. Water rescue crews from California State Park and the Pajaro Valley Fire District arrived at the scene, put her on the device, and pulled her to safety.
Speaking to a local news outlet, Lieutenant Shon Leonetti, from the Santa Cruz Sheriff’s Office, said that if the girl had stood there for much longer she probably would have just slipped into the murky waters and the incident could have ended tragically.
Two men going to help a friend evacuate from their home were flagged down by a resident who had heard the girl crying out for help. They called 911 and rushed over to Hernandez. They said that they found her just as the police arrived.
Hernandez was brought to shore about two hours after her car had been submerged. She was given medical attention and officials said she was expected to make a full recovery.
On Friday, an atmospheric river storm caused landslides and flooding in the Pajaro Valley. The flooding was made worse because the soil was already saturated from previous storms, which caused the water levels to rise sharply and suddenly.
Evacuation orders were in place in several areas on Friday morning. Monterey and Santa Cruz counties officials and volunteers said they would go door to door in Pajaro to share information with residents about evacuation locations and services.
Matt Machado, the Public Works Director for Santa Cruz County, told the outlet on Friday afternoon that they were in “watch mode” and focusing their attention on the rising rivers.
