Man rescues family trapped in Texas home amid surging waters, pitch darkness

A Texas man took matters into his own hands when he bravely rescued a family as their home was flooding during the deadly and historic floods on the Fourth of July. 

Matthew Crowder said he passes by the neighborhood where the rescue happened every day to get to work. He told FOX Weather he was going to work early, at about 2:30 a.m. and didn’t expect to see flooding. 

He got out of his vehicle in a neighborhood in Jonestown, when he saw a family trapped in their home that was filling with floodwater. 

Crowder said when he realized what was happening, he called 911. But the situation was fast becoming more dire.

“Something had to be done immediately,” Crowder said. “That’s kind of when I started yelling out to them, and we began that evacuation process.” 

Crowder said he’d never seen or spoken to the family before the rescue played out. 

“I had to do something for these people,” he said. 

Crowder described the rescue as “chaotic.” He said the power went out halfway through the rescue, making it pitch black while he got the people to safety.

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He assisted the family with getting from the front porch of their home into their truck and ran to see what the safest way to get them out would be. 

“I had gotten overcome by some water and pushed down the street,” he said. He twisted his ankle and got some cuts and scrapes. 

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In the end, he and the family made it out safely. 

“I just believe it was, I was in the right place at the right time,” he said. 

He said what he did still hasn’t hit him. 

“My family is proud,” he said. 

Crowder said, as far as he knows, the family has been doing OK since the rescue, but he hasn’t spoken to them.