HALTOM CITY, Texas — Multiple Haltom City homeowners chose to leave their houses Wednesday as a nearby creek flooded their street.
The North Texas area received a lot of rain starting Wednesday night, which caused several roads to be closed and flights to be changed.
One of those areas hit hard includes Ronald Sims' neighborhood in Haltom City. During the downpour, people in Sims' neighborhood kept an eye on the weather. They also said they keep an eye on the flood gauge signs on Eastridge Drive in Haltom City. That's because Little Fossil Creek sometimes comes to their front door during heavy rain.
"Once it starts getting past that point, that's when you kind of start panicking," Sims said, "We got a huge downpour, and it started coming up over the bridge. It started pouring into the street and from there we watched it just continue rising."
As Sims dealt with rising water at home, emergency responders dealt with it all around North Texas. On Dana Drive in Haltom City, emergency crews helped a family out of their vehicle to safety. Their SUV was stopped in the middle of the street when the water rose above the tires. In Fort Worth on Hulen Street just south of I-30, an officer turned on flashing lights to warn people on the road.
The driver in a small passenger car got stuck in flood waters that accumulated under the overpass. Officers in Dallas also used flashing lights to warn drivers on 635 and T-I Boulevard West about flooding.
During the heavy downpour, MedStar paramedics responded to 28 crashes linked to street flooding. They transported 20 people to the hospital. Fifteen of the crashes happened in locations with limited access to emergency vehicles. After flooding forced Sims to leave home for safety, he said he wants to warn others that driving through high water can be just as dangerous.
"It's not something that you want to play around with because it can quickly take your vehicle and cost you your life," Sims said.