During a recent string of storms that hit the Southwest U.S., one Arizona Department of Transportation technician helped save an injured teen caught in a pickup truck on a flooded road.
ADOT lead maintenance technician Karl Lopez came across the 15-year-old on the night of September 26, as he drove through Globe to assess flooding. The teen was stranded in a truck on Jesse Hayes Road, with up to 3 feet of floodwater between his truck and the ambulance attempting to reach him.
After being informed the young man needed urgent medical care, Lopez decided to risk crossing the flooded road in his ADOT maintenance vehicle. After successfully making the crossing, Lopez used a chain to tow the truck, with the teen inside, out of the floodwater to safety. After about 15 minutes, the floodwater receded enough for the ambulance to cross, where Lopez assisted in loading the teenager into it.
According to a Fox 10 Phoenix report, the 15-year-old suffered a laceration to his arm after breaking a window so he and his parents could escape their flooding home that night. Though the resulting wound severed an artery, doctors were able to save his damaged arm.
Lopez was one of many ADOT workers operating in Arizona that night clearing hazardous debris after heavy rain triggered historic flooding. A combination of complex weather patterns produced record rainfall and destructive flash flooding in both late September and early October, according to ADOT.
