NEWTON, MASS. (WHDH) - A driver in Newton said he had no time to think or react after the brook he was driving next to Thursday flooded and swept his car away.
Alex Luscher said his car, which landed on its side and was filling with water, was being pulled toward the pedestrian bridge that runs across Cheesecake Brook. That is when he made the split-second decision to crawl out through his sunroof.
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“I unbuckled my seatbelt, opened the sunroof protector, clicked the button- sunroof open. I jumped out of there and I was on top of my car, and my phone was in there. I knew I would need it to call my parents and the cops. So I grabbed my phone, got out of there, hopped onto- I think I landed on grass that was underwater. So it was a soft landing,” Luscher said. “Just a couple seconds after that I went to the bridge, and then a bunch of water came rushing and sort of took out the bridge. Glad I got out in time.”
Just after noontime Thursday, crews were at the scene and trying to fish the sedan out of the brook.
Luscher said he usually keeps a tool in his car to assist in breaking windows should a car become submerged but he said he did not even have time to grab that.
He said he was just thankful the car still had electricity.
The car was finally removed from the brook shortly before 7 p.m., according to the Newton Fire Department.
Flash flooding left dozens of motorists stranded in submerged cars in some other communities as the remnants of Tropical Storm Fred moved through Massachusetts on Thursday.
Approximately 40-50 cars total became submerged across Worcester, according to city officials.
On Route 9 in Framingham, traffic was stalled as crews worked to clear the floodwaters that had built up.
All flash flood warnings that were issued across the state expired at 2:45 p.m.
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