OXFORD, Conn. — An Oxford, Conn. woman is seeking help finding the truck driver who rescued her family from last week’s flash flooding.
According to WTNH , Gonxhe Kalici was driving along Oxford Road, which was passable, until the storm swallowed the street.
“This flash flood just comes out of nowhere and stalls my car,” Kalici said. “[My car] wouldn’t start, and I see the water climbing up to the windshield.”
Kalici said she was on her way home from her mother’s house with her two sons, 13-year-old Ajet and 11-year-old Armand.
“When I heard my boys calling my mother just to say goodbye, because they were drowning, I told them, ‘We’re not dying today,’” Kalici said.
That’s when the mother of two jumped into action.
Cellphone video appears to show Kalici pulling one of her sons out of the sunroof of her 2020 Audi A4, with a tanker truck pushing through the floodwater.
Kalici said the truck driver opened his door and reached out.
“He helped [my sons], put them inside, and I went in,” Kalici said. “From there, we drove to safety.”
Ed Zulai, owner of the nearby Oxford House Tavern, recorded the 10-second video while watching the rescue from his porch.
“We saw water rushing everywhere,” Zulai said. “Both sides of the building were being covered, and her car was just about completely engulfed in water; then here [the truck driver] comes pretty much out of nowhere and saved her.”
Kalici said the trucker drove a short distance along the flooded roadway to nearby emergency crews — but she hasn’t seen him since, and is now trying to track him down to thank him personally.
“He’s our guardian angel,” Kalici said. “He was there at the right time.”
Kalici and Zulai said the moment was chaotic and happened so fast, that the only thing they remember about the driver is that he was a dark-skinned man driving a blue tanker truck.
If you know anything about the man, or if you’re the driver, email [email protected].
Dana Guthrie is an award-winning journalist who has been featured in multiple newspapers, books and magazines across the globe. She is currently based in the Atlanta, Georgia, area.
Awesome