Flooding in Texas mobile home parks kills girl
POSTED: 11:44 a.m. EDT, June 18, 2007
Story Highlights• NEW: Much of city of Gainesville, Texas, under water
• 4-year-old girl dies in flooding after rescue boat capsizes
• Heavy rains cause flooding at two Texas mobile home parks
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HALTOM CITY, Texas (AP) -- Torrential overnight rainfall caused flooding Monday across north Texas, killing a 4-year-old girl, forcing dozens to flee their homes and inundating much of the city of Gainesville.
The girl, Alexandria Collins, was swept away to her death while firefighters were trying to rescue her and her mother from their home in Haltom City, a Fort Worth suburb.
"We were in the boat when the boat capsized," her mother, Natasha Collins, tearfully told KXAS-TV of Dallas. "The current swept her from my arms."
The girl's body was found after a search of more than two hours.
About 100 mobile homes were inundated by the overnight storm along a flood-prone creek, and many were washed off their foundations, emergency officials said.
Gas leaks were reported and at least one mobile home burned, said Deputy Fire Chief Fred Napp.
"When I looked out the window, water was up to the bottom of the window and the current was so fast houses were washing away, said Haltom City resident Rachel Hawkes. "You could hear people screaming but we couldn't get out to help."
Heavy flooding and dozens of rescues also were reported in Cooke and Grayson counties near the Oklahoma state line.
Aerial video footage from KTVT-TV of Dallas-Fort Worth showed many parts of Gainesville, a city of about 16,500 people, under water, including the downtown area.
A handful of people could be seen stranded on top of Gainesville buildings while others navigated flooded streets by boat.
Authorities closed Interstate 35 from Gainesville to the Oklahoma state line, the Texas Department of Public Safety said. Some other roads in the region also were closed by high water.
