Elderly couple swept away by flood waters while trapped in van

ByLA Blake KABC logo
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
(YouTube, Daily Buzz Live)
KABC-KABC

MOAPA, Nevada -- In a stunning video of a van being swept over a cliff during a flood, a California couple's road trip nearly turns deadly on Nevada's Interstate 15.

Tap here to watch if you're viewing on the news app.

Loren and Margie Miller were near Las Vegas on their trip to Kentucky to visit their son when a flash flood swept them into a near-death experience, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports. As the rain accumulated, the couple's new van was overtaken by the water. Margie opened her car door in an attempt to stop the door from jamming shut, but she was sucked into the quick-moving waters. After being carried about 100 yards while struggling to stay above the water, a police officer pulled her to safety. Loren, meanwhile, was able to climb on top of the van, where some construction workers came to his aid.

At some point after that, the couple's van was swept off a 14-15 foot ridge. That harrowing moment was captured on video by witnesses along the highway.

It is likely that the guy mentioned as being in the water in the video is a construction worker who the Associated Press reports was swept off the ridge with the van. Fortunately, no one was killed in the ordeal.

Click here to watch the original, uploaded to YouTube by Shane Dukeman (Warning: contains adult language).

As for the Millers, who have been married 46 years, they told the Review Journal they've had enough adventure for one vacation and are likely headed home.

AP

The aftermath of the flooding on Instate 15

The National Weather Service said more than 4 inches of rain fell in less than two hours in the area during what might have been most intense storm in 30 years in the Muddy River valley and rural Moapa area about 50 miles northeast of Las Vegas. Tourists and truckers were told Wednesday to prepare for several more days of disruptive detours around the closed stretch of busy Interstate 15.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.