Monday night, after receiving his recognition, Huber Heights EMT Josh Williamson said he and partner Michelle Sharp, also an EMT, were on I-70 east when they saw a minivan submerged on the west side of the interstate. They got out of their ambulance, Williamson said, and noticed a man who approached them and asked if he could help.
That man, Arcanum resident Matt Louis, "helped a woman off of her vehicle, who didn't know how to swim," Williamson said. "And then helped get the children [two], along with another gentleman who was with the children." At the time, water was rushing over the median wall on the interstate.
All told, according to Williamson, Louis helped rescue six people out of the water and into the waiting ambulance.
"When we left, the water was up to our knees on the eastbound side," Williamson said.
Louis, for his part, said he simply acted on instinct.
"Just a gut instinct, I think. It happened. I seen people in need and decided I should do what I should," Louis said.
According to the Ohio Department of Transportation, the Huber Heights highway flooding was by far the worst. The area affected was bordered by Ohio 201 and Ohio 202. Water shut the interstate for a quarter-mile from 8 p.m. until about 2 a.m. Eight vehicles were stranded in high water and people in them had to be rescued.
I-75 was shut at the 71.4 mile marker when water swept over two-tenths of a mile of interstate. Another section farther north, from the 73 mile marker to the 74 mile marker near the interchange with Ohio 41, was closed as well by high water. Troopers with the Ohio Highway Patrol rescued one person there.
Williamson said and Sharp agreed they did what anyone else in their position would do.
"I'd do it again," Williamson said. "If I was in the same position, I would hope somebody would help me and my family and my children."
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