HOUSTON, Texas — Members of the “Cajun Navy” made landfall in flooded Bayou City and quickly saved the life of a 73-year-old woman they found floating in the street.
Three members of the Cajun Navy traveled from their homes in Louisiana to help rescue people stranded in the catastrophic flooding that impacted Houston in the wake of Hurricane Harvey.
Joshua Lincoln, Ricky Berrigan, and Donnie Davenport came across a woman floating face down in a roadway, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reported.
“I thought it was a trash bag,” Lincoln told the newspaper. “She was wearing a black shirt.
“The lady must have been crossing in some current,” he explained. “She floated right to the boat. We jumped out and got her and gave her compressions right there in the water. We were holding her from behind.”
The woman quickly came around after about 15 compressions, the rescuers said. They then pulled her into the boat and moved her to safety.
Lincoln said the woman, Wilma Ellis, appeared a bit disoriented and scared. They wrapped her in a blanket to warm her up and transported her to a gas station where she could get help.
The incident happened on Houston’s north side near a flooded bayou.
“We’re trying to get an ambulance or helicopter to her,” Lincoln said. “I put her medic bracelet out there on social media. I just don’t know what else I can do.”
Breitbart Texas reported members of the all-volunteer Cajun Navy put out a call on Facebook for members to travel to Houston to provide assistance.
Follow complete coverage of Hurricane Harvey and Houston Floods on Breitbart Texas.
Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior political news contributor for Breitbart Texas. He is a founding member of the Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX, Gab, and Facebook.