Incredible TV footage on Sunday showed a Texas TV reporter and her cameraman helping save a truck driver’s life after they discovered that the man was trapped inside of a tractor-trailer amid rising waters from Hurricane Harvey.
KHOU-TV reporter Brandi Smith was broadcasting live from a location in flood-ravaged Houston when she noticed the truck going under water and realized there was a man inside. That’s when she started yelling to the man and then ran to flag down a Harris County Sheriff’s Office vehicle, which was luckily driving by and had a boat attached.
“There’s a truck drive stuck here in about 10 feet of water,” Smith told the cops, alerting them to the driver’s potentially deadly scenario.
Watch Smith flagging the cops down below:
Smith continued reporting to viewers about what was unfolding and let the truck driver know that help was on the way.
“There is water filling his cab,” she said. “I cannot imagine how terrifying it would be to be in that place right now. Put yourself in that place: your car is filling with water. Help is on the way, he is incredibly lucky.”
KHOU got knocked off the air in the middle of Smith’s reporting due to flooding inside the station, but the reporter captured the actual rescue in a video posted to her Facebook page.
“The #KHOU11 signal cut out just as Harris County Sheriff’s Office crews got their rescue boat in the water to pull a semi driver out of his flooded cab,” Smith wrote. “I’ve had SO many people asking if he made it out OK and I wanted to share the video. (We kept going and rolling until the camera’s battery died, not knowing we’d been knocked off the air.) They pull him out around the 4:40 mark. THANK GOD for that crew.”
The dramatic footage shows police bringing a boat up to the truck and rescuing the man. Smith then greets the crew and the truck driver as they come up out of the water.
“Sir, thank God you’re okay,” she said. “It’s going to sound weird, but can I hug you? I am so happy you’re okay.”
Smith embraced the man, as the scenario thankfully ended on a happy note. Praise God that the crew was able to rescue the man and that Smith and her cameraman were there to flag down help.