A central Texas father died after sustaining a fatal injury while saving his family from the catastrophic flooding in the area on July 4.
Julian Ryan’s fiancée, Christinia Wilson, recalled how the 27-year-old rushed to help his loved ones escape as floodwater began filling the Ingram home the couple shared with their children and Ryan’s mother.
“It just started pouring in and we had to fight the door to get it closed just so too much didn’t come in. We ran back to the room and we started calling 911,” Wilson told KHOU, a CBS affiliate in Houston.
Within 20 minutes, the water was up their knees, Wilson said.
In desperation, Ryan punched through a window to get Wilson, their children and his mother to the roof. His heroic act would cost him his life.
“(The glass) severed his artery in his arm and almost cut it clean off,” said Wilson.
Though the family repeatedly dialed 911, emergency personnel couldn’t reach the home in time to save Ryan’s life.
“By six o’clock, (Ryan) was dead. He’d lost all his blood. He looked at me and the kids and my mother-in-law and said, ‘I’m sorry, I’m not going to make it. I love you all,’” Wilson said.
Ryan’s body could not be recovered until the floodwater receded hours later.
“He died a hero, and that will never go unnoticed,” said Ryan’s sister, Connie Salas.
The July 4 flood was caused by heavy rainfall that forced the nearby Guadalupe River to rise rapidly. The family told KHOU they believe Ryan would be alive today if flood sirens were used to warn residents of the danger.
If her family had heard warning sirens, Wilson said, “We would have left. We would have gone anywhere else. We had so many places we could have gone that were safe.”
More than 90 people across six counties reportedly died as a result of the flood.
In Kerr County alone, at least 90 people, including 27 children, perished, according to NBC News.
President Donald Trump signed a major disaster declaration for Kerr County, where emergency crews are still searching for survivors.
Because of forecasted thunderstorms on July 7, flood watches remain in effect for about five million people in central Texas, including residents in San Angelo, Killeen, Kerrville, San Antonio and Austin.
