Dad clings to son on car roof as rushing floodwater rises, Arizona video shows

A dad was seen clinging to his young son on the roof of his car as floodwaters nearly engulfed them, an Arizona video shows.

Authorities responded to the father and son at about 5 a.m. Oct. 14 in Eloy, the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office said in an Instagram post.

When they got to the scene, they discovered the man holding his child on their car, which was surrounded with floodwater, a video shows.

Firefighters used a ladder on a truck to reach them and get them to safety, deputies said.

“People need to be careful about trying to cross standing water on any road, especially in the dark,” sheriff’s office spokesperson Sam Salzwedel told McClatchy News by email Oct. 15.

Parts of Arizona were hit with heavy rain over the span of a few days that caused flooding, according to the National Weather Service.

Eloy is between Phoenix and Tucson.

Helena Wegner

McClatchy DC

Helena Wegner is a McClatchy National Real-Time Reporter covering the state of Washington and the western region. She’s a journalism graduate from Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. She’s based in Phoenix.