SAN ANTONIO – A woman whose car was carried away Monday morning by rushing rainwater on the city's Northeast Side might have two strangers to thank for her safety.
She was driving along Old O'Connor Road near Weidner Road before 9 a.m. when high water covering the road apparently took her by surprise.
"I tried to wave to her, 'Don't go. Don't go.' But she went," said a man who identified himself only as Mark. "As soon as she got under the bridge, her car shut down. She floated back. It went off the road to the deep part."
Mark said he reacted quickly, jumping into the waist-deep water after her. With help from a passing truck driver, he said he was able to pull the woman out through the window of her car.
"The intersection over here floods all the time when it rains, especially under the train tracks," said Matthew Cota, who works nearby.
He said he noticed the commotion behind the building where he works, but realized that the woman had already been rescued.
Coincidentally, the company for which Cota works makes the flashing yellow lights that are placed at intersections to warn drivers of flooding conditions. Cota said that sometimes, it feels as though his work is in vain.
"The sign over there is clearly flashing and is active," he said. "But unfortunately, signs don't always work."
Witnesses said the woman who was pulled from the car did not appear to have suffered any injuries.