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Joleen Jarrell: Uber driver dies after being swept away by floodwaters as she spoke to husband on phone

Jarrell died after her vehicle was swept off a bridge after nearly 12 inches of rain fell in the suburban Dallas city of Mesquite

DALLAS, TEXAS: A 60-year-old Uber driver and a mother of three died in Dallas, Texas, after her car was swept away in floodwaters while she was on the phone with her husband, with the grim news coming just as Texas recorded the wettest August day in history. Joleen Jarrell was on her way home after completing a job on Monday, August 22, when her vehicle was swept off a bridge as nearly 12 inches of rain fell in the suburban Dallas city of Mesquite, her friends told CBS11.

She was on the phone with her husband Kirk Jarrell, with whom she was married for more than 20 years when her SUV began filling with water. She described to him the water coming in till her ankles, then to her knees. The phone then went dead. Before Jarrell had been identified, Mesquite Fire Chief Rusty Wilson confirmed to reporters at the scene that the dead woman’s loved ones were already searching for her when rescue crews arrived. "They told me that themselves that they were on the phone with her and lost contact with her so they were in the act of actually looking for her," said Wilson, New York Post reported.

Jarrell's husband first spotted the wheels of his wife's SUV under the Scyene Road Bridge near the I-635 service road and she was not found until the floodwaters receded later Monday. "Friends describe her as a hardworking mom who lost her life for an $18 Uber fare," reported Fox News.

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As of 2 pm on Monday, 5.66 inches of rainfall had fallen, breaking the record of 4.28 inches set in 1946. It was the second wettest August day of all time for the state, only a September day in 1932 beat Monday's total.

The fire chief said he had lost count of how many other cars were towed after getting stuck in flooding in the surrounding area. On Monday night, authorities said 10,000 people were without power, and 400,000 gallons of sewage overflows were reported in northwest Dallas. Rainfall over the 24-hour period ending Monday night exceeded forecasts, with one area in east Dallas experiencing more than 15 inches of rain, according to Dallas water utility's floodway operations. 

Video footage from local media showed motorists getting out of their submerged vehicles and swimming for safety in the dark overnight Monday. One stranded motorist told CBS11 that their car “just floated on in the ditch.” “You had to swim because the water was up past my chest,” the witness said. “The Dallas-Fort Worth area was pretty much ground zero for the heaviest rain,” NWS meteorologist Daniel Huckaby said. 

The National Weather Service said flood warnings in some parts of Dallas were in effect until at least Wednesday morning, with risks of thunderstorms and brief periods of heavy rainfall possible for Tuesday and Wednesday. "There is literally no meeting or place to be that is worth risking your life or anyone else on the road. Please STAY HOME if at all possible," Dallas Councilmen Adam Bazaldua wrote on Twitter.

Numerous roads remained closed on Monday afternoon due to flooding, the Dallas Police Department said on Twitter, warning motorists to avoid driving in high waters. The NWS also issued flood advisories for parts of Southern Oklahoma, Northern Louisiana, and Central Mississippi until Tuesday night. "A multi-day heavy rainfall event is in progress over parts of the southern Plains that may produce instances of flash flooding in urban areas and places with poor drainage," the weather service said. 

Dozens of people were rescued overnight as their cars were swept away, and more than 14 million people across the Southern Plains were under flood watch. Photographs from outside a police department building in downtown Dallas showed cars, some of which appeared to be police vehicles, completely submerged in flood waters and drifting down the street.

While the rain will be welcome in many regions due to the ongoing drought, urban areas and other places with poor drainage are at risk of flash floods.

Brittany Taylor told CNN, “I’ve never experienced anything like this in my life.” She revealed that she had moved into her apartment just two days before the floods hit. Taylor was woken up by the rain and couldn’t get back to sleep because her home started leaking. She said “All the cardboard boxes started collapsing, so a lot of my belongings started crashing into the water. I lost a lot of stuff.”