A deadly flood ravaged a historic Maryland town on Saturday, destroying businesses and homes.
Two were reported missing after floodwaters blasted through Ellicott City, sweeping away anything in its way, including cars and the people trapped in them.
A dramatic video captured showed several heroes forming a human chain to rescue a woman stuck inside her car as the raging waters rushed the vehicle down Main Street at about 8:30 p.m. on Saturday.
The clip shows Jason Barnes, the owner of All Time Toys, almost immediately overwhelmed by the waters and briefly washed down the city’s Main Street heading toward the trapped car.
“I thought, ‘Oh my god, that’s it for Jason,'” Dave Dempster, who recorded the clip, told the Daily News. “He’s a true hero.”
Moments before Barnes leaped into the rapid floodwaters, another car was carried down the streets and slammed into another vehicle.
With about four people linked by their hands, holding on for their lives, Barnes was able to reach over to the car and save Jaime Knight from her car as the storm raged on.
Dempster was the first person in the human chain, standing outside his business, the Still Life Gallery, which he owns with his wife, Sara Arditti.
“He was incredibly brave and reckless, and I was impressed,” Dempster told the News.
While the dangerous rapids lasted only about 30 minutes down Main Street, Dempster said he’s still feeling the effects.
His art gallery was completely destroyed by the storm, with more than $100,000 worth of equipment ruined in the downpour.
“Water was literally pouring through the door, the door burst open when there was about five feet of water,” he said.
The Main Street area was hit the hardest, as the river rose from the heavy downpour, forcing floods down its hills.
The busy street’s businesses were decimated by the storm, officials said.
Barnes’s toy store posted on its Facebook page that it was also decimated by the flood.
“All of us did make it out okay but for the foreseeable future, we will be closed,” All Time Toys wrote. “We will keep you posted as new developments happen, but this is going to take some time to get everything together.”
A woman’s body had been recovered from the Patapsco River early Sunday, Howard County executive Allan Kittleman told WBAL-AM.
He told reporters this was the worst he had seen after 50 years of living in the county.
“This is by far the worst devastation Ellicott City has seen in decades,” he told reporters.
With News Wire Services