Local
Driver: ‘Please pray with me’
By: Kathleen Miller and Freeman Klopott
Washington Examiner
December 24, 2008
 |
| Silvia Salvana, left, of Springfield, a nanny for Catherine Karen, right, was on the way to work when she was stranded by floodwaters from a burst water main. (Andrew Harnik/Examiner) |
Saldana’s life flashed before her eyes as the wall of water, sprung forth from a busted water main, slammed into her car. She called her husband. “Please pray with me,” she told him. “If I don’t speak to you again, you’ll know why.”
Saldana’s Subaru was one of eight trapped as River Road turned into churning white water. Saldana was toward the bottom of the hill and was rescued by firefighters who ran a heavy truck against the rapid flow. Others farther upstream were saved by a Maryland State Police rescue helicopter that dropped a basket into the torrent.
Herbert Derienzo and his fiancee were in their Kia, the last car firefighters were able to reach by truck.
When the water hit Derienzo’s car, it pushed it sideways, he said. But Derienzo reacted quickly, stepping on the gas and turning the car’s nose directly upstream, avoiding the possibility of the car rolling on its side.
The car then stalled and started filling with water. The two sat inside, waiting for rescue. It arrived 20 minutes later in the form of a hook-and-ladder truck. Derienzo and his fiancee crawled out the car’s trunk and into the waiting arms of firefighters.
Later, at the Cabin John Fire Station, which sits at the bottom of the River Road hill, Derienzo watched the water pound his car on television.
“I’m glad we’re safe,” he said. “All we lost was the car and Christmas presents.”
More from Kathleen Miller
- MoCo police will review handling of assistant fire chief’s crash
- Atheists get day in court over effort to ban God from inauguration ceremony
- Leggett wants new Rockville jail, council chief calls too pricey
- Opposing groups probe immigration policies in Md.
- Md.’s River Road reopens after water main break
More from Freeman Klopott
- Feds, local officials say they've dismantled Latin Kings in Md.
- State Department adds restrictions to diplomats bringing servants into the U.S.
- Executive accused of planning night of sex with young girl
- Town's ex-police chief accused of selling stolen department gun
- P.G. police point to youth outreach as cause of lower crime
