Elderly Alton couple dies after flash flood | WGN Radio 720

ALTON, Illinois – Flash flooding caused by heavy rains Tuesday killed an elderly couple from Alton, Jersey County.

The Jersey County Sheriff’s Office responded to a 911 call just before noon Tuesday from a 70-year-old man who reported being trapped in his car due to sudden flooding on Beltrees Road, east of Fessler Road, near Mill Creek.

During the conversation, the man mentioned that a second vehicle was trapped behind him and that an elderly man was in the water outside the vehicle.

When police arrived, they found the caller lying on the roof of his vehicle while the second vehicle was completely submerged in water. The caller told authorities he saw the older man attempting to swim in the water.

The Jersey County Sheriff’s Department reports that the body of an 88-year-old woman was found inside the submerged vehicle after the water level began to drop.

Shortly after 3:30 p.m., police found the body of an 88-year-old man about a quarter mile away on the banks of Mill Creek.

It later turned out that the two victims were a married couple.

The man who reported the incident was rescued from the roof of his vehicle when authorities arrived on the scene.