Bob Canales said he tried to save the family before they were overwhelmed by the floodwaters that killed at least 132 people
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A Texas man tried saving people at the RV park he owns during the Texas flood disaster, but watched many people — including a family of four — slip away.
Bob Canales, who owns the Blue Oak RV Park in Kerrville with his wife Lorena Guillen, jumped into action early in the morning on July 4 after learning that the Guadalupe River had flooded, according to NPR’s KERA News.
He said they raced over to the nearby RV park and began alerting campers to the danger. One of the people Bob tried to save was John Burgess, younger brother of Fort Worth country singer Pat Green, who was visiting Kerrville with his wife Julia, their two young boys and their dog.
The Burgess family was stranded near a steep drop-off, so as the floodwaters raged, Bob yelled at John to “Throw me the baby!” But the family was swept away.
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John and Juila were later found dead, and their boys remain missing, according to KERA News. Their dog managed to survive.
Bob said he spent the next few hours witnessing the destruction caused by the flood. “You could hear transformers popping,” he recalled. Nearby cabins, he added, “were slamming together” and several of them “fell together like dominoes.”
Some people were caught in their cars, but according to Bob, they were gone in “a flash.”
“At that moment, there was just nothing you could do to save anyone or help anyone,” he added.
Officials now say at least 132 people have died due to the flood. Bob told KERA News that this is not what he and others anticipated for Independence Day weekend.
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“Everyone was looking forward to a great weekend,” he explained. “Within the span of 45 minutes, they were wiped off the planet.”
Bob and Lorena also own the nearby Howdy’s Bar and Chill, where some victims were found dead. The couple has since reopened the restaurant and used it to help feed victims of the tragedy.
They have even held a special memorial for their 27-year-old kitchen worker, Julian Ryan, who was among the victims killed in the flood.
“It’s been so important to have people return to a sense of normalcy,” Bob told KERA News. “I think people see that we’re going to survive this.”
