A REPORTER has been hailed a hero after he rescued a woman trapped in a submerged car on live TV – moments before floods swallowed the vehicle.
The woman could be heard screaming for help in the background of Fox News meteorologist Bob Van Dillen’s report as he covered Hurricane Helene’s wrath in Atlanta on Friday.
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After making landfall in Florida on Thursday, Hurricane Helene brought devastating winds and catastrophic rain to Georgia and the southeast on Friday.
The storm had led to at least 37 deaths by Friday afternoon.
Van Dillen was discussing a flash flood warning when he heard the panicked driver screaming for help.
The Fox meteorologist promised her 911 was coming but her cries for help continued.
Van Dillen appeared visibly worried for the woman and said, “Oh man, it’s a situation.”
He then looked into the camera and said that he was going to help the lady, promising, “I’ll be back.”
The Fox and Friends team in New York continued the broadcast as Van Dillen disappeared to help the driver.
When the broadcast returned to Van Dillen in Atlanta, he was seen wading in chest-high water, carrying the woman on his back after helping her escape her car.
About 30 minutes later, Van Dillen recounted the rescue on Fox and Friends, saying he called 911 but didn’t get an answer as emergency services were “swamped” due to the storm.
He said over 10 minutes passed since the woman first called for help and no cops were in sight – so he knew he had to do something.
“I dropped everything, and I took my wallet out of my pants and I went in there and waded in,” Van Dillen said, adding that the water was “chest deep.”
When he reached the car, which was still running, the woman inside was “panicking,” the reporter told Fox.
“She really wasn’t making too much sense and she was still strapped into the car seat,” he recalled.
“She still had the seat buckle on. And she had her window about this much down and she’s trying to talk to me through that.”
He said that the woman was “almost neck-deep” in water, which had already reached the car windows.
‘MIRACLE’ RESCUE
Van Dillen told the Atlanta resident to undo her seatbelt and hand over her phone and bag.
But the rising water pressure prevented him from opening the car door, so he rolled the window down and she crawled out through the opening.
He said it was a “miracle” the water didn’t interfere with the car’s mechanics, allowing the window to go down with “no problem.”
He then put the woman on his back and carried her out of the water.
I dropped everything, and I took my wallet out of my pants and I went in there and waded in.”
Bob Van Dillen
Despite his worries about the strong current, Van Dillen said the water wasn’t moving as swiftly as he expected.
He also reported that the water temperature was likely around 80 degrees.
“That being said, the water came up to my chest,” he added.
Fox host Janice Dean said she wasn’t surprised by Van Dillen’s heroic act after knowing him for over 15 years.
“That’s the kind of guy Bob Van Dillen is,” Dean said, encouraging the meteorologist to not be so humble.
Van Dillen said the woman was fine, despite being in shock and shivering from the cold.
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