Bystanders Rescue Father and Son From Swollen Arizona Creek Amid Floodwaters

A group of bystanders rescued two men and a child from rushing floodwaters at Arizona’s Sycamore Creek on July 25, local media reported. The father and son were off-roading to celebrate a birthday, the mother of the boy told AZFamily. "It was barely sprinkling; it wasn’t even full on raining, then all of a sudden, the flash flood hits you,” Miranda Franks said. Franks, and her daughter, watched as her husband and eight-year-old son were swept away by the rushing floodwaters, according to a GoFundMe page started by the family. One of the bystanders involved in the rescue, Roberto Varela said, “When I got to the dad he was fighting to keep his son afloat. He didn’t care he was under the water; his whole goal was to keep his son’s head above water… the dad was drowning." Footage here was filmed by Zahid Mendez who “was riding four-wheelers with his uncles and cousins when they watched as this Ford Explorer came rushing by them, and then flipped on its side.” "That’s when we saw the kid, like a child, come out the window; they pushed him out the window,” said Mendez. The National Weather Service in the area warned of heavy rainfall and flash flooding on July 25. Credit: Zelenia Cordova via Storyful