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1 dead, 1 missing after Prius swept downstream in flash flood

Posted at 4:46 PM, May 31, 2018
and last updated 2018-05-31 17:31:30-04

ALBEMARLE COUNTY, Va. -- Crews have located the body of one of the two people swept downstream during a flash flood in Albemarle County Wednesday night.

"At approximately 9:30 p.m. [Wednesday] there was a flash flood of Ivy Creek in Albemarle County and a vehicle and its two occupants, a man and a woman, went missing near the intersection of Old Ballard Road and Martin Farm Lane," a spokesperson with Charlottesville Emergency Management said. "A Silver Toyota Prius was observed being swept away in flood waters with its two occupants outside their vehicle and in the water. A second vehicle was also swept away but its single occupant was rescued from the water."

Officials said Thursday afternoon that one of the people inside the Prius was found dead. The second person who was inside the car remains missing.

WVIR reported that a team of more than 40 people were searching for the couple.

"The identity of both the deceased and the missing person are being withheld until the missing person is located and family members can be notified of the search results," officials said.

Neighbor: 'I've never seen damage like this'

A number of roads were closed in Albemarle County after nearly 10 inches of rain caused flooding that sunk driveways and uprooted trees along Ivy Creek.

William Calland biked around Thursday to survey the damage near his home.

“All these trees are completely down," Calland said. "I'm surprised the fence is still up."

Down old Ballard Road, crews recovered the Prius from Ivy Creek after flood waters washed it away.

On nearby Holkham Drive, dozens of homes were cut off after a culvert failure causes the road to give way.

The Spencer sisters saw abandoned cars near their home.

"There were cars that were stranded there, and they had sitting water in the vehicles, so I guess people had tried to go through and it didn`t work,” one said.

Local authorities urged the community be safe around flood waters, especially with more rain in the forecast.

That is something Calland has taken to heart.

“I've never seen damage like this in person, so it definitely is keeping me aware of how much we need to respect Mother Nature and how safe we need to be out here," Calland said.

Water rescues were underway in Lynchburg early Thursday morning.

"The Rivanna Water & Sewer Authority is closely monitoring local reservoirs and no risk to these dams has been identified," the spokesperson continued. "There are significant road closures and moderate damage to one single-family home in Western Albemarle."

Albemarle declared a local emergency Wednesday night related to flooding in the county. All schools in the county are closed Thursday.

In Madison County, firefighters performed multiple water rescues.

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