Teens Rescued From Flooded Car

June 27, 2007 — -- Severe flooding continued to threaten the center portion of the country Wednesday, and a dramatic Oklahoma City rescue scene Tuesday showed just how dangerous the waters could be.

Rushing currents tried to push over a car over a small dam into 12 feet of water. Twin teenage sisters, Lauren and Lindsey Penn, were trapped inside. They were driving on a residential street when their vehicle stalled in the high water, the result of 14 straight days of rain.

The 16-year-olds, who had just completed their sophomore year of high school, said they panicked when the car got stuck.

Lauren said she was driving when the front of the car got caught in the water.

The two were headed home after dropping off a friend when the water began sweeping into the car.Lauren said she was unaware of any flooding until she ran into the water.

On "Good Morning America" Wednesday, Lauren said she tried reversing the car, but the water became so high the car refused to start. The car began filling up with water and pulled the front of the car in, she said.

"We were just sitting there crying the whole time," Lauren said. "I was like, I can't wait to get out."

Lindsey said she and her sister were "freaking out, going crazy and stuff."

While trapped, Lauren said they shouldn't try to swim to safety and so they decided to remain in the car. Lauren called her mother on a cell phone, but she was crying so hard Lindsey had to take the phone and explain what was happening.

"I was so scared," Lauren said.

They spotted a utility worker nearby and asked for help. As they waited for rescuers, water continued to fill the car, even covering the seat. Lindsey moved to the back, while Lauren stayed in the front. "Once I got into the downward flow it pulled me right to the car. I talked to the victims through the window," said Oklahoma City Fire Department Cpl. Brent Koeninger, who worked to bring the girls safely ashore.

Koeninger said he tried to calm the Penn sisters down and told them what would happen next.

"We drug them out of the vehicle one at a time [and] took them to the shore," he said.

The weather conditions in the area are expected to worsen. Storms remain in the forecast for the next seven days, and it's not just a problem for Oklahoma. The wet weather has caused problems for Texas, too.

Rain has been a constant in that state for the last month and saturated the ground. It forced street closings in Fort Worth and left some Dallas homes under water.

A 13-year-old boy in the area died overnight after swollen creek waters swept him away in the Dallas suburb of Garland.

The cause of all the rain is a stationary low, which is blocked and not being moved by any other weather system, forecasters said. It continues dumping rain from New Mexico to Kansas to Illinois, Texas and Oklahoma.

Even areas as far north as Chicago are feeling the system's effects. Tuesday's rains had workers scrambling to bail out Wrigley Field for the evening's Cubs' game.