Driver, passengers of U-Haul truck rescued from Southside wash

In the wake of the intense monsoon rains on Thursday, July 25, city crews were busy conducting nearly a dozen water rescues .

This included an effort to save the driver and two passengers of a U-Haul truck. The vehicle got stuck while trying to pass through a Southside street near a wash.

Debris lined South 16th Avenue on the morning of July 26th, a clear remnant of the previous night's storm.

Hector Lopez, a resident of the southside, described the scene. "The water coming through here to this corner was full, like six, seven-feet high," he said. “In the truck, there was one lady, one guy and a little girl.”

Lopez took action by alerting paramedics. "I put the flashlight to the paramedic,” he said. “I said ‘you guys, those people right there need help’."

The paramedics, with the help of a large truck and ropes, worked for about three hours to rescue the trapped individuals.

Eventually, the rescue operation was successful, and all individuals were brought to safety.

Lopez noted that the wash frequently floods, and local residents know to avoid it. "The people living here, we spare that area,” he said. “But people not living here, they try to cross."

He emphasized the danger, stating, "You’ve got a lot to lose from crossing right there,” he said. “You may say ‘I’m macho, I’ve got a good car. I’ll cross it.’ No, you got to respect it."

In the aftermath, city crews were able to remove the U-Haul truck, and by this morning, the area had largely dried up except for a small pool of water where the wash crosses.

No injuries were reported from the incident.

This won’t be the last storm of the monsoon season, and those in the area of South 16th Street are advised to find alternate routes during heavy rains.

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Joel Foster is a multimedia journalist at KGUN 9 who previously worked as an English teacher in both Boston and the Tucson area. Joel has experience working with web, print and video in the tech, finance, nonprofit and the public sectors. In his off-time, you might catch Joel taking part in Tucson's local comedy scene. Share your story ideas with Joel at joel.foster@kgun9.com , or by connecting on Facebook , Instagram or X .