A woman is lucky to be alive after driving around a barricade and finding herself in a dangerous situation in flood waters Thursday night.
It happened at 6:42 pm on Old Hixson Pike.
The driver went around a barricade into the flooded roadway where the water was several feet deep and very swift.
The woman got out of her vehicle when it stalled, thinking she could walk through the fast moving water, but she was swept into the tree line.
She managed to grab onto a tree and called 911.
Fire personnel rushed to the scene and launched a rescue mission. They threw her a rope and started to pull her out.
She lost her grip on the rope so firefighters made their way to her, helped her get a life jacket on and then got her out of the water.
She was checked out by paramedics on the scene and thankfully, she not injured, just cold.
Mutual aid was provided by Dallas Bay VFD.
Removal of her car will be handled by a wrecker service.
Battalion Chief Chris Warren played an integral role in the rescue and stressed to drivers the importance of paying attention when barricades are out.
“Great work by our crews to save a life tonight. We ask the public to take the necessary precautions in these situations. Don’t underestimate what could happen,” he urged.
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