Ranger Johnny Stafford and Texas DPS trooper Arnie Tevis responded to a call of a car submerged in Black Creek with two people trapped inside on the afternoon of December 30th. When they arrived, they found Charles Empey, 60, sitting on the roof of a 2005 Lincoln with the rising floodwaters almost to the car’s roof. Empey had a hold on his wife Joan, 63, and was trying to pull her from the car. Her head and shoulders were above the cold water, but she was sitting in the open window of the submerged car and Empey lacked the strength to pull her to safety. Stafford removed his defensive equipment, put on a life vest, and threw a safety line to the car. When the line was secure, he entered upstream of the Lincoln, and, with Tevis behind him, waded through the chest deep water to the Empeys. After putting life jackets on them, Stafford and Tevis assisted them to shore, where they were warmed and dried in a waiting ambulance. The couple turned out to be newlyweds; they were returning from their honeymoon when the accident occurred.
