Legally blind son saves mother from flooded basement apartment in Queens
WOODSIDE, Queens (WABC) -- A mother is alive today after her legally blind son jumped into action when their basement apartment in Queens began to flood from the remnants of Ida.
One mom is lucky to be alive after her legally blind son heard her screams and pulled her through this small window saving her from drowning.
"He literally saved my life right when I needed him," Danette Rivera said.
Rivera had a scary close call as Ida's floodwaters rushed her basement.
She went down to the basement after her tenant let her know that it was flooding. She went down to assess the damage when water suddenly rushed in.
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"Every time I came back down to touch the ground, the water would go over my head," she said. "I was covered with feces, dirty water. I really thought I was going to drown."
She pushed her tenant out a small window, but the force of the water kept pushing her down. That's when she started screaming.
"I said Justin, Justin I'm going to drown, I'm drowning. As loud as I can, like it was my last breath," Rivera said.
Thankfully, Justin heard those screams just in time.
"At some point she was just screaming for help. I was taken aback by how deep the water was in the yard," Justin Rivera said.
Despite the high water he immediately rushed into action
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"There was a sense of importance, but it was like a calm rationalization of what needed to be done," he said.
Squeezing through the window left her covered in bruises, but despite being sore, she's happy to be alive today.
"There was no way for me to call him. There was no way for me to contact him. So for him to come down precisely at the moment, it was amazing grace," Danette Rivera said.
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