In the past when I've watched a story on the news of flash floods, I would have no sympathy to seeing idiots getting stuck driving through a flooded roadway. On Friday, June 19, 2009, I was caught driving my 1996 Chevy Lumina on a busy road when a flash flood occured. Call me an idiot, but I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

I was at the Milwaukee Mile all afternoon and evening for the NASCAR Truck Series race. I caught about four hours of practice that afternoon before the night's 8pm race. Around 7:15 or so, it began to rain, and about an hour later, the race was postponed until the following afternoon.

(Maps courtesy of Bing.com)

On the map above, I've highlighted the area where it occured on my way home. On Highway 100 (108th Street) between Howard and Cold Spring in Greenfield. Here's a closer look:

While I was still at the race track, I listened to radio reports of I-94 being closed south of Milwaukee, so I decided to take Hwy 100 to Hwy 45 (Loomis to 124th St.) for my drive back home to the Kenosha area.

8:30 pm on Friday. At that time, Hwy 100 is somewhat heavily travelled. This night was no exception. Traffic was moving along with no problem going south on 100 from Greenfield Avenue, Lincoln, National, Oklahoma, etc. Roads were wet, but there was little or no standing water.

After we crossed Howard Avenue, the cars ahead were merging to the left lane and emergency lights were seen off in the distance. "Alright, no big deal", I thought. Probably an accident ahead. The single lane of traffic creeped along.

Before long, we were driving in standing water. One inch, two inches, four inches... moments later, the water was up to the tail pipe of the car I was following. Because of the median in the divided highway, there was no way out. Eventually, I approached an area with several stalled cars in the roadway, making me worry that it was only going to get worse if I continued down the road.

Off to the left, I thought I saw an oasis. A small shopping center where some cars were parked on higher ground. A break in the median allowed me the chance to get off the road just before the area where the stalled cars were blocking the roadway. I thought I was doing the smart thing by getting to the higher ground at the shopping center. I thought wrong.

A cell phone picture just before I turned off the road.

To get to the high-and-dry cars (bottom right corner of the photo), I entered the parking lot of the Bartz's party supply store. The water level gve me a false perspective that it was a flat driveway and parking lot. Instead, my car dropped into about three feet of water as I entered the Bartz's lot. The engine died. My car began filling with dirty water.

I didn't panic. My passenger (Amanda) did. Knowing the car was FUBAR'ed, I grabbed our valuables (cameras, purse, camera bag, etc.) and waded through the water, which was up above my waist, and found dry ground to leave our stuff. I made several trips back to the car to help Amanda through the water's current and to salvage what I could from inside the car.

A cell phone picture of the car after the water subsided a little bit.

The police closed the southbound lanes at Howard just after I had passed. If I had gotten to this area a few minutes earlier or later, I would not have been flooded. Also, the flooded area ended about 100 yards beyond where I turned off of the road. I might have made it through if I continued on... or at least I would have only stalled the engine instead of killing the car altogether.

For over two hours, we stood in the rain helpless. Tow trucks eventually came, but they tended to the cars stranded in the roadway before I could get a flatbed to yank my car from the scene. Making matters worse, my cellphone died after getting a little too wet. Amanda kept her phone dry, but the battery was low.

Fortunately, Amanda's awesome aunt Gail and uncle Ron arrived to give us a ride. Amanda's mom Barb allowed me to borrow her car that night in order to get to work the next morning. I eventually got home around 2am. A tornado passed through my neighborhood that evening, and many big trees were down, but my home was spared.

Here's a picture of my car in the infield of the Mile hours before the flash flood...

The alarm clock went off at 5am, and I dragged myself into work... exhausted and still numbed by what happened the night before. My insurance company wasted no time in getting back to me that morning with news that my coverage did not include flood damage. Living on high ground, I never thought I would need extra flood coverage for my car.

After work, my priority was to buy a car. I hate buying cars. With most car lots closed on Sunday, I needed to get something fast. The folks at Carmax had a 1999 VW Passat in excellent condition (70k miles). Certainly an upgrade from my Lumina.

All in all, things could have been worse. Just about everyone I've talked to has echoed the sentiment that they are glad we are okay. It's nice to hear, but I never felt in danger at the time. It was a blow to my psyche and pocketbook more than anything.... but I'll get over it.