Flash floods took the lives of two people Wednesday afternoon in Nash County, North Carolina, just outside the capital of Raleigh.
The man and woman died after their vehicle was swept away along Highway 581. The Spring Hope Police Department said the vehicle was pushed into a ravine “where the waters were rushing and over 6 feet deep.”
When officers arrived at the scene shortly after 2 p.m., the woman had climbed onto the roof of the minivan, but as the rescuers tried to reach her she fell and was swept away. The man was also taken downstream.
The victims were identified as 24-year-old Lottie Alston and 55-year-old Raymond Evans, both from Louisburg, North Carolina.
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In a news conference Wednesday evening, Nash County Sheriff Keith Stone said one of the first responders was stranded as he tried to reach the victims and had to be rescued by other first responders.
Lt. Jason Leary said he was the second officer on the scene and while he called for a fire truck ladder and tried to get Alston to stay calm, she fell into the floodwaters. He ran into the water to try to grab her, he said, but the water was going over his head and moving fast. He was never able to reach her.
Leary said, “I have not seen floods like that since Hurricane Floyd in this area. It was amazing how fast it came.”
Flash flood warnings were in place across Raleigh and surrounding areas until 7 p.m.
Sheriff Stone said there were at least three wrecks and seven flooded roads in the county Wednesday. He reminded drivers to never attempt to cross flooded roads.
“During these storms it takes just a little bit of debris in these pipes and things of this nature that are going under the road to turn a low area into a flooded area," he said.
Between 4 to 6 inches of rain was reported in the Spring Hope area Wednesday.
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