Parts of North Texas recorded four inches of rain in just a few hours on Monday night, and cars stopped across the region.
DALASUS – Michael Norman wishes he hadn’t taken a risk Monday night.
“It was hail. The sirens triggered a tornado. I was a mannequin. “I was just trying to get food, and I’m paying for the consequences,” Norman said.
His 2018 Cadillac stopped in Carolton when it entered the water covering Hebron Parkway.
“It looked like maybe four or five inches of water, but it was probably about two feet,” he said.
Besides, it was raining so hard he could barely see.
Water seeped through his door, but he began to back away before he felt his life was in danger.
Several other cars stopped at Hebron Parkway.
The scene is repeated countless times on roads and highways across North Texas, as drivers risk more than they should.
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Viral videos on social media show cars and trucks trying to roll through the water to half their doors.
“I wouldn’t go through that,” said mechanic David Nguyen, owner of Elite Auto Solution on the North Riverfront in Dallas.
“If the water is high enough to touch your exhaust pipe, it’s too deep,” he said. “Either the water goes into the exhaust pipe or into the intake manifold. And when he does, he enters the engine and blocks the engine. And it can be very expensive. “
McKinney Fire Department had to pull out boats to rescue people in a sudden flood. The city of Dallas responded to 26 calls for people in danger, Frisco reported nine, and the city of Carolton had at least three places where cars were blocked in high water.
“Six inches of water can move a person, 12 inches of water can start to affect a vehicle, and two feet of moving water can wash it away,” said Elliott Rip, Carolton’s emergency management coordinator.
He said drivers should do everything possible to avoid driving in stagnant water.
But following the “turn, don’t drown” advice is sometimes difficult when water is collected or collected on the interstate.
“You have to slow down at least half of what you normally drive – it saves you time to see things and react,” Rip said. “Pay attention to the vehicles in front of you. If you see a vehicle disappear in front of you, that’s a bad sign.
Norman hopes his Cadillac can be repaired.
“Mistakes have been made, but we hope everything will be fine,” he said.
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