Firefighters save driver hanging from tree after escape from flooded car
By Anna Meiler
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NORWOOD, Massachusetts (WBZ) — A driver who couldn’t swim had to hang on to a tree after his car was suddenly submerged in a flood in Norwood Wednesday morning.
The fire department posted photos on Facebook showing the car on Upland Road near Washington Street with water up to its roof around 5:30 a.m. as an overnight storm rolled through.
They said the driver was able to get out but he had to hang onto a nearby tree to wait for help because he didn’t know how to swim.
“He was just yelling. From my window, I could hear him yelling,” Nancy Robles told WBZ-TV. She lives nearby and was woken up by the sound of ambulances and fire trucks rushing to the scene.
“He was holding on to the branch,” Robles said. “He was just hanging and screaming for dear life.”
A rescue swimmer in a survival suit saved the man, who was then brought to a hospital. The driver, who has not been identified, had what was described as “non-life threatening injuries.” The car, a Toyota Camry, was eventually towed away and drained, leaving the inside full of leaves and debris.
Norwood Police said there was 5-to-6 feet of water on Upland Road after the storm. Robles said recent construction there has made it more prone to flooding.
“I’m scared now going through there, especially with the flooding and then stuff and the construction,” she told WBZ. “If this is going to go on and we’re going to get more storms, can you imagine? It’s going to get worse.”
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