A delivery driver got stuck in Tennessee floodwaters for eight hours over the weekend, and now he is using his experience to warn other drivers.
Brandon Hooper was on his way to McEwen, Tennessee with a load of bread on Saturday, August 21st when the flooding began.
“I had to turn around. I go down 13 to hit the I-40 and I called a coworker of mine to figure out if there’s a back way to McEwen. I took a back exit and I got stuck. I got stuck behind some downed trees, flooded out roads, there was, I got to one point and I realized there wasn’t even a road there anymore. You could just tell by the way the water was moving,” Hooper recounted to WKRN News.
Hooper then decided his best option was to turn around, but his way was blocked by another fallen tree, so he decided to just go for it.
“I had to drive through knee-deep of water to get back to Highway 13. I went down another dirt road too, Stewart Branch Rd. Me and a FedEx semi-truck was going down a dirt road,” said Hooper.
Eventually, Hooper decided to just stay put until the water subsided, waiting a full eight hours before he could return to the depot.
“I didn’t get back to our depot for a good eight hours. I got back last night around 6 p.m.,” said Hooper.
Hooper says he was in a similar flooding situation in the same area around 10 years ago, which helped him to stay calm throughout the ordeal. His advice for other drivers who find themselves in a similar situation? Make sure to stay away from any fast-moving water.