Places in Greenwood County saw approximately 10 inches of rain on Tuesday, June 3. The heavy rain caused several roadways to become impassable and resulted in two water rescues.
The first occurred at 2:45 p.m., in a rural area near Madison, where the caller and her children were trapped. The Greenwood County Sheriff’s Office, Greenwood County Emergency Management and Madison Fire Department responded and were able to quickly get the driver, Karina Elias, 30 of Madison, and her children to safety. No injuries were reported.
On Wednesday, June 4, around 8:30 a.m., Greenwood County 911 received a report of a vehicle that had been swept off of 200th St., approximately one quarter mile west of F Road with an elderly male still in the vehicle. Deputies with the Greenwood County Sheriff’s Office, Greenwood County EMS and Eureka Fire/Rescue responded to the call.
Deputies arrived on scene and with the assistance of local ranchers were able to get the male driver, identified as Gregory Allen, 78, of Tulsa, Okla. Investigation determined that Allen was traveling from Tulsa to Oregon and got disoriented during the rain on the night of June 3.
Allen stated he was driving west on 200th when he was swept off the road by water that was over the roadway pinning his vehicle against a tree approximately 200 feet south of 200th St. Allen stated he was swept off the road at approximately 6 p.m. the night before. He was unable to call for help due to no cell phone service and spent the night in his car in chest deep water until he was found by ranchers who called 911.
Allen was transported to the Greenwood County Hospital by EMS where he was treated and released.
