Two Texas Department of Transportation employees rescued a man stranded in a flooded creek in Presidio County using a front-end loader, the agency said in a July 9 news story. The late-night rescue at Terneros Creek highlights the role TxDOT crews play alongside emergency responders when floodwaters rise in far West Texas.
Shortly after midnight on July 1, Presidio/Terlingua Maintenance Supervisor Jesus Hernandez received a call from the Presidio County Sheriff’s Office about a man trapped in floodwaters at Terneros Creek, which crosses under FM 170 about five miles southeast of Presidio on the route to Big Bend Ranch State Park, according to the agency. Hernandez called Israel Arevalo, a Presidio transportation maintenance technician who was on call that night, and the two quickly mobilized. Hernandez drove a TxDOT pickup truck while Arevalo drove a loader, a large piece of heavy equipment with a bucket in the front, from the Presidio facility about 10 miles away.
Once at the creek, the pair carefully maneuvered the loader into the floodwaters. The stranded man climbed into the loader’s bucket and was safely transported to higher ground, TxDOT said.
“In this situation what we like to do is just go in and get them out,” Hernandez said in the story. “Just in and out, so we’re not exposed to danger ourselves. The gentleman was really calm. He was happy to jump into the loader, and he was glad to see us.”
It was not the first rescue for Hernandez and his team, who have received statewide recognition multiple times for past rescue efforts, according to the agency. “Rescuing stranded motorists is not something our folks do to be recognized,” said El Paso District Engineer Tomas Trevino. “They really care about people in the areas they serve.”
The agency said the rescue demonstrates the partnership between TxDOT crews and local emergency responders. While many emergency vehicles cannot safely enter fast-moving floodwaters because they risk being swept away, specialized TxDOT equipment such as a loader can provide critical assistance during water rescues. During monsoon season, Presidio County crews regularly patrol more than 280 low-water crossings along a 100-mile stretch of roadway between Candelaria and Terlingua, watching for dangerous conditions during rains.
TxDOT reminded motorists to turn around, don’t drown when encountering water-covered roads. Just six inches of fast-moving water can knock an adult off their feet or cause drivers to lose control of a vehicle, twelve inches can carry away a car, and two feet can sweep away trucks and SUVs, the agency said. Drivers can check real-time road conditions at DriveTexas.org to plan routes away from flooded roadways.