News Flash

We're skipping ahead of our regular posting schedule to bring you the latest update on an event that happened this evening.

The area covering Death Valley and Las Vegas rains about once a month and we were lucky enough to pass through on one of these days.  The climate, though, produces heavy rainfall causing flash floods to rush through the mountains, fill all ditches and spill onto the roads.

Alexei, Chris and I were racing along the highway in the dark here.  The two windshield wipers quickly waved in front of us and pushed aside rain from a rare storm in Death Valley.  When we were 30 minutes away from Las Vegas, the car suddenly ran into a gush of water pouring onto the road and our entire windshield was covered.  The car swerved a little, but Chris managed to keep us from spinning out.  However, one of the car ahead of us wasn't so lucky.

Just as we drove past the pool, a green car fell into the ditch with a river of brown, muddy water.  The river carried it away while an elderly man was trapped inside of it.  The water was deep and fast enough to pull the car for a quarter of a mile.  As soon as Chris saw this, he told Alexei to call 911 and bolted out of our car with me trailing along behind him.

We ran beside the car in the rain with a few other drivers who stopped to offer help.  Eventually it slowed down to a halt, but the current was so strong that the car's bumper was torn right off.  The water was too deep for the driver to roll down his window without having water seep in.  All of us watched the man encased in his vehicle as we wondered what we'd be able to do to help as he was too far for any of us to reach him safely.  Our group gradually became bigger until we realized we were surrounded by 20 soldiers who happened to cross our path (this place also happened to be near Area 51).

One of the soldiers suggested we link arms together to reach the man.  Chris advised against it and informed him the current was strong enough to drag the car with it.  After trying out the idea and seeing one of them almost swept away, another proposed we throw a tow cable toward the driver.  The cable was too short for the job though.  Chris offered some rope from his trunk and as the green car started to move again, a soldier told him to fetch it.  So Chris and I sprinted back to the car on the highway, parts of which, at this point, had been covered fully with mud.

Meanwhile Alexei notified the 911 operator of the situation and asked for rescue assistance.  He was told that the driver had dialed in already and help is on the way, though she inquired whether medical assistance was also necessary.  Alexei suggested to send for them anyway.

Chris and I returned to the car and drove it back to the scene.  Quickly, all three of us moved the luggage from the trunk to the back seat to get to our emergency compartment.  We found the rope and ran back to the group.  At that moment, a solider yelled instructions to the driver to roll down the window on the passenger's side and jump to the other side of the bank.  The driver slowly climbed to the roof and leapt to the watery grass below.  He struggled through the brown current and crawled until he reached higher ground.  Exhausted, the driver fell onto his back and watched his car being swept away once more.  Another soldier stated help was on its way and called out to everyone else to move their vehicles.  We did as we were told and drove away as we watched a few people starting their cars with jumper cables in the pouring rain.

Long story short, we're okay and are in Las Vegas now.  Our clothes were soaked, our shoes and pants were muddy, and our car lost a hubcap, but we're doing fine.  Some of us are tired, yet still awake from the adrenaline coursing through our veins.  If this incident taught us any lessons, they are to be prepared for an emergency before one arises and our military and emergency response staff are working very hard to keep its citizens safe in any type of situation.

Pro Tip: always keep a strong rope in the trunk of your car.  You'll never know when you might need it.