Raging waters force dramatic rescue

A massive water-main break sent a four-foot wall of water down one of suburban Washington’s busy commuter routes Tuesday morning, forcing trapped motorists to be plucked from their cars by rescue boats and helicopters and providing political leaders with a dramatic new argument for upgrading the region’s aging infrastructure.

Though shaken, none of the dozen or so victims trapped in their vehicles on River Road, in Bethesda, suffered serious injuries. But the signs of devastation - from mud-covered cars to giant sinkholes - left officials scrambling to solve short-term inconveniences such as low water pressure and re-routing commuter traffic for the holidays.

Related article:Crews start repairs on broken water main in Bethesda

Political leaders also immediately sought to make the episode - disseminated on national television - a rallying cry for securing money in President-elect Barack Obama’s expected job creation and economic recovery program to upgrade the Mid-Atlantic region’s badly outdated infrastructure.

“We have long known we are in a dangerous situation,” Montgomery County Council member Roger Berliner, Bethesda Democrat, said. “We know that without the federal government’s help there are future incidents similar to today´s that are waiting to happen.”

Mr. Berliner, also a member of the council’s Transportation, Infrastructure, Energy and Environment Committee, said the incident “underscores the urgent need for the federal government to include projects like fixing the infrastructure in neighborhoods such as this in the federal stimulus package.”

Mr. Obama has called upon state and local leaders to submit public works projects and other ideas for federal funding.

The break in the 66-inch water main erupted at about 7:55 a.m., sending as much as 150,000 gallons a minute onto River Road, near Seven Locks Road.

The water hit the vehicles with so much force that at least one vehicle was overturned and another shoved into a wooded area. A mound of rubble stood at the top of River Road where the water had broken through the ground, near Fenway Road.

“We’re OK,” said Gaithersburg resident Hebert Derienzo, who along with fiancee Maria Delgado was rescued from his car in temperatures in the mid-teens. “That’s the best gift.”

Mr. Derienzo said he lost some Christmas gifts but “those people will get IOUs.”

Pete Piringer, a county fire department spokesman, said: “Drivers were confronted with a 4-foot wall of water.”

Two women were rescued from their cars by boat and brought to shore while three others were picked up by baskets from state police helicopters. One rescuer, Lt. Patrick Mitchell, had to be picked up by a helicopter after his boat became filled with water after rescuing the two women.

“I can’t see anything,” a woman screamed to a 911 operator, according to a tape released by authorities. “I need help!”

Story Continues →