07/21/2026
Please be safe out there, everyone. My wife and daughter took this photo on Route 80 in Parsippany not long ago. Reports were of 3 or 4 tornadoes in the area. How many 🌪 do you see? These storms are no joke.
Listen to the warnings, and never drive through flooded roads. Flash flooding is incredibly dangerous and can become life-threatening in a matter of seconds.
I know because I've lived it firsthand.
Several years ago, my wife and I took one of the dump trucks to rescue my brother and niece after they became stranded in a flash flood in Fairfield. As we slowly entered what appeared to be only about 12 inches of water, it started splashing up over the hood and smashing against the windshield. Within seconds, the water had risen to nearly 3 feet, pouring into the cab through the doors.
The engine started bucking, the lights were flickering, and there was a burning electrical smell throughout the truck. I tried opening the doors to get my wife into the back of the dump body, but the pressure from the water made them nearly impossible to open, and the power windows had already stopped working.
In a split-second decision, I floored it. The truck barely moved. It bucked and crawled its way through the water, inch by inch, until we finally made it through and reached my brother's car. My little niece was still strapped into her car seat with water around her legs. Thank God we got everyone out safely that night.
We lost the dump truck. My brother lost his car.
The part I'll never forget is that the floodwater disappeared almost as quickly as it came. If you drove down that road a short time later, you would've never known what had just happened. That's how deceptive and dangerous flash flooding is.
Later, we learned that people in other parts of New Jersey lost their lives after becoming trapped in floodwaters.
Please don't take the risk. If you see water covering the road, turn around. No appointment, no errand, and no destination is worth your life or the lives of the people you love.
Stay safe tonight, everyone, and keep all of the first responders, utility crews, and families affected by these storms in your prayers.
🙏❤️
