Watch CBS News

Teen Driver Escapes As Littleton Street Gets Flooded By Hail, High Water

LITTLETON, Colo. (CBS4) - Bryndon Jackson knew he was in trouble Thursday evening in Littleton on West Chatfield Avenue when a powerful hailstorm moved in.

The 18-year-old called his mother from behind the wheel as the hail began dropping heavily on his car. Moments later the car got stuck in a surge of what he described as a "hail-water mix."

"I was on the phone with my mom and I was like 'Mom, I'm not going to get home. The water's rushing up fast. It's coming. It's really high,' " Jackson told CBS4.

Kerri Cushing described what it was like to be on the other end of that call.

"He said 'Mom the water it's deep, it's deep, what do I do?' I said 'I don't know.' All of a sudden he said 'Mom, mom my car's floating!' and hung up," Cushing said.

Hail

"It was just a lake of hail and water," Jackson said.

With his adrenalyne "pumping," Jackson then made the decision to run.

"I just threw my door open and hopped out and it was about up to my waist when I hopped out," Jackson said.

A short time later his mom got a phone call that her son was safe.

Hail

Cushing rushed to the scene, where snowplows were brought in to clear the road.

Hail

"The moment I saw him I just broke down in tears. I (had been thinking) 'That's my kid! How am I going to help him?' " she said.

Jackson's car may wind up being totaled, but he's shaking it off.

"All I have to say is, you never know what's going to happen where in Colorado," Jackson said.

When a CBS4 crew was at the scene a bit later there was still plenty of hail that hadn't melted. One youngster really enjoyed running around on top of it.

Hail

Floodwaters caused problems in several areas south of Denver Thursday night. The Collegiate Academy of Colorado in Littleton had to call off school on Friday as they cleaned up from a deluge of water. And in the Colorado Springs area several roads were closed for several hours Thursday night.

The rain in Denver on Thursday set a record for the Denver area, according to the National Weather Service. The previous highest precipitation total on Aug. 22 was .75 inches, set in 1953. On Thursday 1.94 inches of rain officially fell.

The following are more images of the hail from YouReporters south of Denver on Thursday night:

HailKristen Schoon from Ken Caryl Ranch sent in this picture of hail in her pool.

HailHail in Castle Rock from Amanda McCabe.

HailHail in Divide from Amanda Nelson

HailHail piled up in Divide from Kristan Hoffpauir

HailShoveling hail in Ken Caryl from Jenifer Reeder

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.