Boone County firefighters rescue dad, daughter stranded in floodwater
Matthew Sanders
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Boone County firefighters rescued a father and daughter who were stranded on top of a pickup truck in floodwater on Thursday.
The truck was stranded in water at Perche Creek on Akeman Bridge Road north of Columbia, Boone County Fire Protection District Assistant Chief Gale Blomenkamp said. Emergency radio traffic indicated the vehicle was almost fully submerged.
Crews were dispatched around 1:49 p.m. for a vehicle in floodwater. The two were rescued shortly before 2:30 p.m., and the scene was cleared just before 3 p.m.
Boone County Fire Lt. Ryan Benedict said the truck had been swept about 100 yards off the road. The water was over 3 feet deep when they were rescued.
“It’s pretty dangerous whenever you get into floodwater, just because it’s extremely unpredictable,” Benedict said. “You don’t know what’s going on on the roadway underneath you. You know, that’s why we always advise people not to even walk in flood water, let alone drive in it.”
Officials deployed three rescuers in the water wearing personal flotation devices to reach the victims.
Franky Zuno was on his way to drop off his daughter, Zaira Zuno, at a dentist appointment when their route took an unexpected turn. The pair said they had originally planned to go a different way, but Google Maps directed them onto West Akeman Bridge Road.
“We saw it was flooded. My dad tried to turn around and thought a little water wouldn’t hurt,” Zaira said. “He started to back up, but the current was really, really strong and it took the back end,”
Both Franky and Zaira recalled the moment as frightening. Franky said as the situation unfolded, he tried to reassure his daughter that everything would be okay.
The two said they had no cell service to call for help. Fortunately, a driver came by and noticed them struggling. That person then drove to an area with better reception to call for help for the father and daughter.
Zaira said a tip she learned on TikTok helped her act quickly and escape the truck before it was fully submerged.
“Immediately as soon as the water started coming into the truck, I put the window down and I was like, dad, we got to get out and so we climbed to the top,” she said.
Franky Zuno, the truck’s owner, said firefighters told him the truck could remain there for several days before being towed because of more rain in the forecast.
The flooding occurred after storms dumped inches of rain on Mid-Missouri between Wednesday night and Thursday morning. More storms are expected Thursday night and again Friday.
Check back for updates to this developing story.