- Do you know this good Samaritan? Email martha.williams@mailonline.com
A Good Samaritan heroically rescued a child and his father from their car just before it drifted away during the flash floods in Southern California.
Neighborhoods in Southern California were inundated with several inches of rain and flash flooding Thursday, leaving vehicles stranded on flooded roads.
Near the entrance to the 101 Freeway in Santa Barbara, a BMW sedan was engulfed by rainwater from the flash floods, leaving passengers in the middle of a gigantic and deep pool of water.
Fortunately, a Good Samaritan in a much larger truck came to the rescue and managed to lift the child and his father out of the BMW and into his Toyota Tundra.
Video footage shows the moment the hero carefully guided the victims to safety through the passenger seat window of his car.
A Good Samaritan heroically saved a child and his father from their car just before it drifted away during the flash floods in Southern California
Neighborhoods in Southern California were inundated with several inches of rain and flash flooding Thursday, leaving vehicles stranded on flooded roads
Near the entrance to the 101 Freeway in Santa Barbara, a BMW sedan was swamped by rainwater from the flash floods, leaving the passengers in the middle of a gigantic and deep pool of water
Fortunately, a Good Samaritan in a much larger truck came to the rescue and managed to lift the child and his father out of the BMW and into his Toyota Tundra.
The truck then managed to wade through the deep water and escape the dramatic puddle.
Forecasters had predicted the most dangerous conditions would begin to impact Southern California Wednesday afternoon through Friday.
The National Weather Service said in a severe weather warning that the chance of thunderstorms and thunderstorms would be “favorable” and even suggested the potential of a “short-lived” tornado.
Between midnight and 1 a.m. local time on Thursday, the storm dumped 3.18 inches of rain on downtown Oxnard, surpassing the average of 2.56 inches for the entire month of December, according to the National Weather Service.
Counties northwest of Los Angeles County were also hit overnight, flooding areas in the cities of Port Hueneme, Oxnard and Santa Barbara, where a detective carried a woman on his back after the SUV they were in rode got stuck in knee-deep water.
Later in the morning, streets in parts of Santa Barbara began to fill with water as the storm caused another deluge.
By midday the rain and wind had subsided and residents ventured outside to inspect the damage.
By late afternoon, the city of Port Hueneme had lifted the evacuation order for homes on four streets.
About 60 homes were affected by the orders, all in a senior community, said Andy VanSciver, spokesman for the Ventura County Fire Department. An evacuation center was set up in a university gymnasium.
The truck eventually managed to wade through the deep water and escape the dramatic puddle
Between midnight and 1 a.m. local time, the storm dumped 3.18 inches of rain on downtown Oxnard, surpassing the area's average of 2.56 inches for the entire month of December.
Detective Bryce Ford of the Santa Barbara Police Department helps a motorist out of her car on a flooded street during a rainstorm
A man walks past a submerged vehicle on a flooded street in Santa Barbara
The major rain storm is expected to hit Southern California late Wednesday and possibly last into Saturday morning. Downpours already reached San Francisco on Tuesday
Three people from the senior community were taken to hospitals out of an abundance of caution and there were several rescues of drivers from flooded vehicles, he said.
The city of Oxnard said in a social media post that many streets and intersections were severely affected.
“Please stay off the city streets for the next few hours until the waters recede,” the post read.
Meanwhile, Californians were gearing up for holiday travel and finalizing Christmas preparations.
The Automobile Club of Southern California predicted that 9.5 million people in the region would travel during the holiday season.