Driver recalls terrifying muddy ride down Burbank road
BURBANK, Calif. (KABC) -- Desionne Franklin could see the wall of water and mud rushing at him in his car's rearview mirror - but there wasn't much he could do about it.
Franklin and his girlfriend were inside his Prius in Burbank during Tuesday's storm when a river of mud came rushing down Country Club Drive.
It picked up their car and swept it down the road like a bobsled.
The terrifying incident was captured on a video that quickly went viral with tens of thousands of views.
"She's screaming at the top of her lungs - 'Hey, go faster, go go go,' she's pulling my shirt," he recalled. "I'm like, I'm going but I have no control of the brakes or the steering or anything at that point for a part of the way down."
With no control of the car, he tried to keep calm. He thought about his children and his family.
"I just wanted to survive and not end up a statistic."
He's grateful he survived the wild, muddy ride, knowing many other people weren't so lucky that day.
"This is just a survival story," he said. "It could've been worse. The stories from this rain are a lot worse than my story."
Franklin recently bought the Toyota, thinking he could make a little extra cash driving for Uber.
He praised the car for how it handled the mud and helped him and his girlfriend survive without serious injury.
"I didn't realize this little Prius was going to save my life."
