Flooding claimed the lives of a pregnant woman and her 8-year-old son whose car was swept away near the Colebrook Railroad trestle crossing Thursday, July 11, 2019 in Boyertown, Pa. Douglass Township Police Chief John says the car was swept down the Manatawny Creek for about a half-mile on Thursday night, while the woman was on the phone with emergency officials. The call then dropped, and emergency workers found the car in a tributary nearly five hours later. The names of the woman and child have not been released. (Michael Yoder/Reading Eagle via AP)
Republished July 12, 2019 - 10:33 AM
Original Publication Date July 12, 2019 - 6:06 AM
BOYERTOWN, Pa. - Severe weather has caused widespread damage across Pennsylvania and claimed the lives of a pregnant woman and her 9-year-old son whose car was swept away by floodwaters.
Douglass Township Police Chief John Dzurek says the car was swept down the Manatawny Creek for about a half-mile (kilometre) on Thursday, while the woman was on the phone with emergency officials. The call dropped, and emergency workers found the car nearly five hours later.
Dzurek identified the victims as 31-year-old Pamela Snyder, who was eight months pregnant, and her son, Preston Dray. He says initial attempts to get to Snyder's car were unsuccessful because police vehicles began floating in the current.
Thursday's storms caused flash flooding in many areas and knocked down trees and power lines in other areas, causing travel problems and scattered power outages.
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This story has been corrected to show that the boy killed was 9, not 8.
News from © The Associated Press, 2019