WAWAUTOSA, Wis. — The early morning hours of August 10, 2025, were fueled purely by adrenaline.
While documenting the historic flooding in Milwaukee and Waukesha counties, things quickly took a dramatic turn.
We soon found ourselves in the middle of a life-saving rescue. A woman was stranded on top of her car in the midst of the rushing current in Wauwatosa.
Little did we know, Cara Williamson had been trapped on her vehicle's roof for nearly five hours by the time we heard her pleas for help.
"It was so serendipitous that you guys were there! Because other than the car that I thought was a boat, there was nobody," Williamson said.
Photographer Miron Jacobs and I reunited with Williamson for the first time about three weeks after the ordeal—a moment that meant the world to all of us.
"Oh my god! You seriously are like the best! You guys are so awesome!" Williamson gushed as we embraced in a group hug.
RIGHT PLACE, RIGHT TIME
Jacobs and I were interviewing a resident about flooding in the neighborhood when I heard a faint voice calling for help from nearby brush.
"I said, 'Miron, do you hear that? I said, just listen,'" I recalled.
Jacobs waded through the rushing current and found Williamson stranded on her car roof.
"You were like, 'I think I see you!' I was like, 'I think I see you too! Don't go!'" Williamson recounted.
The ordeal began when Williamson's mother asked her to move their car to higher ground—near Concordia Avenue and Menominee River Parkway at 2:30 a.m.—to protect it from flood damage.
Watch: Woman stranded in car during flooding reunites with crew who helped rescue her
"As soon as [the back tires] were on the road, it was like I no longer controlled this vehicle," Williamson said.
The floodwater swept her car off the road, hitting street signs and mailboxes before getting stuck in the trees. Water seeped into the vehicle, trapping her inside.
"I couldn't open the door because the water was too high… Thankfully, they're automatic windows, so they still opened," she said. "So I climbed out of the roof, and then it was like a whitewater rafting adventure."
When we arrived nearly five hours later, Williamson was still in the same position—the epitome of being in the right place at the right time.
I immediately called 911 for emergency assistance.
"We have a woman who is trapped on top of her car," I told the dispatcher.
While waiting for rescue crews, we kept Williamson informed that help was coming, though she couldn't hear us over the rushing water and heavy rainfall.
She thought we had abandoned her.
"I'm just… You guys being here, I mean, gosh! I'm getting choked up because it really wasn't scary until after, if that makes sense," Williamson said after her rescue.
A PROPER CELEBRATION
The Wauwatosa Fire Department successfully rescued Williamson using water rescue equipment. She was uninjured but shaken by the experience.
"I didn't know I had to Cirque du Soleil my way out," Williamson joked about her escape from the car.
The three of us later celebrated the most relieving happy ending the best way we knew how: donuts—a gift from Williamson.
"Nothing says thanks for saving my life like donuts! I think we're even now!" she laughed.
Williamson said the experience is something she can make light of now, but that she'll think twice before attempting to drive during a storm in the future.
"It all worked out and I'll never drive in the rain again, so it's cool," she said.
SAFETY REMINDERS:
"Turn around, don't drown."
- Do not attempt to drive in floodwaters.
- Roads may appear more shallow than they are.
- Only a few inches of water can sweep away a vehicle.
- Find an alternate travel route, or wait on higher ground for the water to recede.
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