A weatherman rescued a woman trapped inside her vehicle outside Atlanta, Georgia, on Friday amid Hurricane Helene’s landfall.
Fox Weather Meteorologist Bob Van Dillen was in the right place at the right time to save the woman, who was being threatened by rising floodwaters as he reported live, according to Fox News.
Van Dillen said the woman had called 911 but the minutes kept passing by and she was left screaming for help.
In video footage of the incident, Van Dillen points to the woman in the car, saying she drove into the rising waters. He then reassures her that first responders are on their way. However, the woman keeps crying out for help.
“It’s a situation, we will get back to you in a little bit. I’m gonna go see if I can help this lady out a little bit more you guys. I’ll be back,” he says before moving out of view.
Moments later, the camera shows Van Dillen wading through chest-deep water as the woman clings to his back:
“So I just said, ‘You know what? I realize I’m with you guys, I’m on the air but I can’t let it go.” Van Dillen later explained that he dropped everything and went to save her.
An image shows the weatherman rescuing the woman, who was in desperate need of help:
“It came after Hurricane Helene made landfall in the Big Bend area of Florida’s Gulf Coast as a Category 4 storm overnight, leaving a trail of destruction in its path stretching across several states,” the Daily Mail reported on Friday.
During an interview after the harrowing rescue, Van Dillen was at the same spot and told Fox News the woman’s car was still there and her windshield wipers were still going:
He said he was worried about a swift current in the water but it was not as bad as he had feared. “The water came up to about my chest, and she was in there. She was still strapped into her car and the water was actually rising and getting up into the car itself.”
He said the woman was nearly neck-deep in the water. Following the rescue, she was fine, but experiencing some shock.
