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Driver Rescued During Flash Flooding In Greenville

GREENVILLE (KDKA) -- At least one person had to be rescued and several homes were damaged when heavy rains fell on parts of Mercer County Thursday afternoon.

Two inches of rain had already fallen in central Mercer County and forecasters worried more was on the way when they issued the Flash Flood Warning.

The rising flood waters on Stewart Avenue at South Mercer Street in Greenville turned the road into a dangerous river.

Mike White, of the Greenville Fire Department, took pictures as rescue crews responded to a driver literally stuck in the back of his pickup truck because it was underwater.

Greenville_Flooding2
(Source: Mike White)

Felicia Allen took video of the water that quickly surrounded Stewart Avenue.

"A guy came down in a truck, I tried to stop him. He was bound and determined to get through there; he didn't get through there, so I called 911," said Brian Patton, of Greenville. "They had a fire truck and a boat to get him."

Following the storms, Patton - like most of his neighbors - is trying to pump the water out of his basement. He's only lived there eight months.

Leroy Lewis has lived there 30 years and has never seen his basement quite like this.

"My freezer definitely is done. My washer and dryer, I don't know. They're floating in the basement. I don't know what's going on with them yet. I won't know till it drains out," Lewis said. "My hot water tank is out, my furnace might be ruined."

Allen is also cleaning up and taking stock in the yard of what's salvageable. Many of her belongings are drying out in her yard.

"I hooked up our first sump pump. The landlord brought a second sump pump, then he had to call the fire department because it just got bombarded and we started to get a gas smell and everything like that," she said.

Lucas Fussell has lived in Greenville for about a year and a half.

"This is the second time this year it's happened. The first time it wasn't as bad as this one. This one was like a swimming pool," added Fusell.

The Flash Flood Warning has since expired.

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