Dateline: May 10, 2001

Flood sweeps couple into storm drain 

Roger Estlack, Clarendon Enterprise

Clarendon’s Vic Jeter and a female passenger narrowly survived a watery disaster when the pickup they were in was was washed into the city’s major floodway downtown.

Jeter said he turned south onto Gorst off Third Street and proceeded toward Fourth Street about 9:30 p.m. last Thursday after seeing two vehicles go ahead of him.

That area is part of Clarendon’s main storm drainage system.

Jeter said he never saw the water hit his Ford pickup, but in a matter of seconds the cab was covered as water flowed over it. Jeter said his pickup was pushed backwards into a retaining wall by the water, then forced downstream before hanging up behind the First Christian Church.

“We couldn’t see anything because the water was rolling up over the windows,” Jeter said.

Jeter called 911 twice but could never hear the dispatcher’s response because of the roar of the water. He then tried calling Renee’s Diner where he knew some local officers were but again could hear nothing.

Both 911 calls were received by the Donley County Sheriff’s Office. Deputy Bruce Burrell went down Fourth Street near the Senior Citizens Center but could not get to Jeter’s location from there. Sheriff Butch Blackburn arrived via Third Street.

Blackburn said he grabbed a lariat from his patrol truck and tossed it to the woman with Jeter. The sheriff, along with bystander Max Rippetoe, volunteer firefighter James Hinton, and one other person, pulled Jeter’s companion to safety. Then the sheriff threw the rope to Jeter.

“He hit me with it the first rattle out of the box,” Jeter said.

Blackburn always carries a lariat with him but says his skills with it are limited.

“I’ve never been a very good roper,” the sheriff said. “There was somebody helping me that night.”

Jeter said he never knew when the men started pulling on the rope. One instance he was in the truck, and the next he was in the water with his feet pointing straight downstream as the torrent tried to carry him off. Blackburn and the others dug in and pulled the man to safety.

“There were three people in that truck,” Jeter says of his rescue. “Me, her, and God.”