SAN ANTONIO – The high water is gone, but the memory of being rescued from it is still fresh for one San Antonio family.
The family was one of at least seven reported calls police say they responded to along 151 between Sunday night and Monday morning.
“How dark it is — there’s no way you can see that water. I went from just where it was just water on the road to immediately it was up at the hood, and there’s water splashing, and my car was already going into it,” said Dee Higel.
Higel said she was on the road around 1 in the morning Monday because her baby daughter Riley had a high fever. She was trying to get Riley to the Christus Children’s Emergency Center, up the hill from the frontage road.
“I hear the swooshing, and I look down, and I have my light on my phone, and I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh, there’s water coming in,’” said Higel.
Water came rushing in, up to the seats of the car. Luckily, firefighters rescued Dee, Riley, and Riley’s 6-year-old sister, Nayeli, and carried them away from the flood water.
“(Firefighters) said, ‘I’m sorry it’s cold.’ But I said, ‘It’s not cold. I’m just scared,” said Nayeli.
“She was shaking,” her mother added.
More than 24 hours later, the family is safe, and Riley feels much better. Now, they’re able to laugh about the experience.
“The first thing that came out of (Nayeli’s) mouth was like, ‘I can’t swim, Mom,’” said Higel with a laugh.
Nayeli smiled and added, “I could swim if it’s up to the tires, but if it’s up to the doors, I cannot.”
Laughs aside, there are frustrations. Higel’s Christmas gift, a 2024 Subaru Ascent, is now totaled.
“I’m upset about it because I’m like, ‘Why is it so dark out there?’” she said.
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