As Tropical Storm Harvey has continued its terror along the Gulf Coast, reporters covering the scene are finding themselves in the position of first responders. CNN reporter Drew Griffin realized this earlier Wednesday morning when, during a live shot in Beaumont, Texas, he watched a man drive straight into floodwaters.
In the clip replayed on CNN, Griffin turns around to see a white pickup truck sinking across the street behind him.
“Look at this. Get out, dude!” he calls to the person in the truck, before realizing the driver needs to be rescued. After looking for a power cord or rope, Griffin runs to the man’s truck, along with another person, and they help hoist the man out of the truck’s window and onto the berm. As the man catches his breath, the camera captures his truck drifting slowly downstream.
The man, named Jerry, is from Winnie, Texas, but was staying at a hotel down the street from where he had driven into the ravine. After the playback of the clip, Griffin said Jerry caught a ride back to his hotel from another passerby and would later call the police about his truck.
“It just happens that quickly, and if no one was here…he’d be gone. I can see just the top of his truck from my vantage point right now. He would be trapped,” Griffin said.
Watch the remarkable video of the rescue below:
https://twitter.com/JoshuaChavers/status/902896758459654144