How a good samaritan braved death to rescue 98-year-old Mae Amburgey and family from Kentucky floods
A good Samaritan rescued a 98-year-old grandmother and her family who were struggling to make it out of their water-filled Kentucky home during the disastrous flood that swallowed the state.
Randy Polly was driving to get some gas on Thursday morning when he witnessed a man saving the lives of an elderly woman and others who were trapped in a house as the water kept rising. Polly told CNN he heard some people yelling "Get me help, get help." He immediately called 911, but the rescue team was already overwhelmed by the neck-deep floodwaters and unable to answer any emergency calls.
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Then, he witnessed something that made him believe heroes do exist in reality. He saw someone braving the floodwater and swimming to the house to save the trapped residents.
Polly later shared a series of astonishing videos with CNN which shows the anonymous man helping the grandmother. Polly further revealed it took the man about 30 minutes to enter the house through the window and help each of the three family members leave safely.
Missy Crovetti, from Green Oaks, Illinois told CNN that her grandmother Mae Amburgey, uncle Larry Amburgey and her brother Gregory Amburgey were in the home in Whitesburg, Kentucky, during the floods.
Crovetti said her brother is safe, but her 70-year-old uncle has been put on a ventilator due to water inhalation. She added that her grandmother was being treated with antibiotics after suffering a laceration on her leg, and had been diagnosed with pneumonia as of Sunday. "We're hopeful but also terrified because of her age," she said.
Crovetti said she does not know the name of the man who saved her family’s life. Polly too is unaware of his identity. However, Crovetti has set up a certified GoFundMe campaign to help her family and other families who are trying to get over the loss caused by the devastating flood.
The horrific flood has already claimed at least 26 lives as of Sunday Morning. The National Weather Service put a flood watch in effect through at least Monday morning for parts of southern and eastern Kentucky. The rescue work in Kentucky is going on in full swing as the teams are taking search efforts door-to-door. "This is one of the most devastating, deadly floods that we have seen in our history... And at a time that we're trying to dig out, it's raining," Governor Andy Beshear told NBC's Meet the Press. "We're going to work to go door to door, work to find, again, as many people as we can. We're even going to work through the rain. But the weather is complicating it."