'Out of nowhere': Drivers recover flooded cars abandoned during storms

HOUSTON – Rain pounded Southeast Texas on Thursday night.

Abandoned cars lined streets that looked like rivers in North Houston, and some of those stranded drivers took refuge at nearby gas stations.

“It’s horrible," said one driver. "I am exhausted and I am tired.”

As the water drained during the mid-morning hours, drivers slowly made their way back to their abandoned cars on the feeder roads near State Highway 249 and Interstate 45.

“This is something I never want to experience again,” said Taminika Evans, who got to her car minutes before a tow truck driver could haul it away. “Out of nowhere the water just started coming."

Evans said she was forced to ditch her car on the feeder road after it hydroplaned and she lost control.

“The car just went to floating, like, 'Oh! My gosh! We (are about to) drown,'” Evans said.

She said the water was up to her chest and the current was strong as she swam for higher ground Thursday night.

Friday morning, she came back with a friend armed with jumper cables.

“I got to go to work," Evans said. "I was supposed to be at work right now."

Her car didn't start, but she maintained a positive attitude.

"I mean I am alive, so as long as I wake up every day, I am good,” Evans said.


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