At least three people were killed and another missing in Texas after being caught in high waters caused by a storm system that brought snow, ice and torrential rain to an area stretching from New Mexico to IL, officials said on Friday.
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While major flooding has not been an issue, a Tarrant County sheriff’s deputy had to be rescued by Fort Worth firefighters after she attempted to do the same for a motorist who had driven into high water in southern Tarrant County.
Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Terry Grisham said Salazar was swept away while approaching the vehicle in which the woman was trapped.
As she made her way out to the vehicle, the water swept the deputy and the victim away, Fort Worth Fire Department Spokesman Kyle Clay said.
Two people were rescued, but the third person’s body was recovered Friday morning near Mansfield, about 18 miles southeast of Fort Worth, sheriff’s spokesman Tim Jones said.
Salazar was treated at a hospital and released.
Tarrant County Deputy Crystal Salazar, 26, was pulled under the water.
As of 4:45 a.m., they had not rescued the motorist from her vehicle, which was submerged in water.
The Fort Worth Fire Department’s search for the 70-year-old woman was suspended until daylight.
Forecasters issued flash-flood watches and warnings from northern Texas up to St. Louis, with up to 4 inches of rain reported in some places as the storm slowly moved to the northeast.
The driver is still missing at this time and the Fort Worth Fire Department says the search for her is on hold until the morning due to unsafe flooding. She was swept away by floodwaters as she tried to rescue the driver.
Crews found the body of the 33-year-old woman just after 8 a.m. on Friday.
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The rain was steady overnight in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and pushed 2015 to the No. 1 spot as the wettest year on record. And there’s much, much more on the way: The National Weather Service says North Texans should see, on average, another four to six inches of rain between today and Sunday night, when we should begin to dry out. It has rained 55.23 inches there this year, topping the annual rainfall record of 53.54 inches set in 1991.
