The car secured to the bridge following the rescue in Hall Green, Birmingham. January 2, 2024. January 3, 2024. Release date – January 3, 2024. See SWNS story SWBNhero. A hero dad has told how he saved a woman and her three-year-old daughter after spotting their car being swept away in a flooded river. Liam Stych, 28, leapt into the raging torrent after hearing the woman screaming “Help me, help me, please save my baby!” Dramatic video shows the woman’s car being dragged under a footbridge as floods surged through Hall Green in Birmingham at 4.15pm on Tuesday (2/1). The fearless dad dangled off the bridge and smashed the rear passenger window and lashed the woman’s Fiat Punto to railings to stop it sinking. Incredibly, he saved the little girl by "hurling" her into the lap of his pregnant partner Tia Draper, 27, who was standing on the bridge. West Midlands Police hailed Liam a “local hero” but the modest dad-of-two insisted he just acted “on instinct”.
After witnessing their car being swept away in a flooded river, a heroic father saved the woman and her three-year-old daughter.
Hearing the woman cry out, “Help me, help me, please save my baby!” Liam Stych sprang into action, fighting a raging torrent.
The woman’s car is seen being dragged beneath a footbridge in a video that was taken on Tuesday after Storm Henk caused flooding in Birmingham, England.
The 28-year-old not only broke the rear passenger window and hung off the bridge, but he also used ratchet straps to fasten the Fiat to the bridge in order to prevent it from sinking. Check out the video below.
“A woman’s screams came from inside a car as we crossed a bridge.
I dangled off the bridge because the front of her car was pointing into the water. I didn’t want to add to the problem by using my weight to sink the car.
“I instructed the woman to calm down, open her window, and give me her child.”
He grabbed the infant and “hurled her” into the arms of his pregnant partner, who was on the bridge, despite the woman’s inability to fully open her window. After that, the highway engineer ran back to his work van and retrieved some 3.5 ton ratchet straps.
“As soon as the baby was secure, I hurried to grab the seat belts, climbed back into the car, and broke the rear passenger window.”
“To ensure that the car wouldn’t drift any farther under the bridge, I used the ratchet straps to secure it to the bridge.”
“I then instructed the woman to exit the window and climb into the back.”
After three counts, we held hands and dove into the water together once she was able to escape. Because of the strong current, I had to pull her out of the water.
Liam was praised as a hero by West Midlands Police, but the unassuming father of two maintained he only followed his “gut.”
“I believe that if I hadn’t taken the actions that I did, the car would have been dragged beneath the bridge, making it impossible for them to escape.”
“Our presence at the scene was purely coincidental.”
He wants people to be aware of the risks associated with flooding.
“After a period of intense rain, the streams and roadways abruptly transformed into raging rivers.
“The poor woman could have lost her life, but she and her daughter still might have lost their car and the shopping that was in the back.”
WATCH the video down below:
