Texas Man Uses Monster Truck to Rescue Neighbors During Flood
The top of his pick-up sits ten feet off of the ground.
— -- A Texas man used his monster truck to rescue neighbors in Millsap, Texas, during major flooding that struck the region this past week.
Deborah Wright, a local resident, was trapped in her home on Monday morning when her longtime neighbor and friend Cole Geeo drove through the flooded roads to her rescue.
“The water came up so fast this time and we didn’t have the warning that we usually get," Wright told ABC News. "It just came up so rapidly, it was like somebody was turning on a huge water faucet.”
"Before you know it, here comes Cole who comes riding through all that water to come get me," she added.
The top of Geeo's self-built 1978 Ford F-150 pickup truck is ten feet off the ground and the tires are 63 inches tall, so he was able to drive down the flooded roads, he told ABC News. Because the monster truck is so tall, Wright said she had to use a ladder to get inside.
All residents of Parker County, Texas were advised on the city website not to drive through flood-waters and to call 911 if trapped by the floods. On Monday, Parker County Judge Mark Riley declared a disaster.
Geeo said he is passionate about using his monster truck for good. “I drove down the night prior when all the roads were flooded and helped this one husband and wife who were trying to leave. But the water was all the way up to their headlights so they ran off the road,” he said.
"Years ago, this community flooded and my father, who is kind of the reason that I built my monster truck, helped a lot of people out during those floods," Geeo continued.
Wright agreed that the people of the town have a history of coming together to help.
"When I saw him coming across that, what looked like a lake at the time," she said, "it was such an emotional thing for me, that everyone just pitched in and did what they thought they needed to do for our community."
Wright added that the small town has impressed her with how much they take care of each other in these kinds of situations. "I came here from Fort Worth, the Big City," she said, "and as long as I have been here the community has always gone into action and helped people."