Following several days of heavy rain last week, flooding occurred across North Texas, leading to the death of a 4-year-old boy.
Over the weekend, 4-year-old Lucas Warren of Burleson, south of Fort Worth, was swept away by heavy flood waters, per Fox 4 KDFW.
Investigators found the boy’s body several hours after the initial search began. Warren was with his parents in the early morning hours when his father drove into an area with high waters along County Road 528 in Burleson.
A 911 caller reported to police that the family exited their vehicle to reach higher ground.
“Apparently they were walking out together, holding the child, and it came rushing through and knocked them off their feet and carried them downstream,” Chief Deputy James Saulter told Fox 4. “Everybody was separated. At one point, we were told, the mother had the little boy for a period of time, and then she lost hold of him.”
The search and rescue teams were hindered by the strong rushing water, and the team’s drone was of little benefit as the area was covered in trees and large pieces of debris, the chief said.
“The drones could’ve helped us out, but they didn’t get that far. There was just so much debris that was flowing through there; there were cars, car trailers, side-by-side golf carts,” said Saulter. “We had to pull the boats out; the rescue team had to pull the boats out because it was just too strong at one point in time.”
The chief deputy noted that the department is continuing to investigate the incident.
Warren would have turned 5 years old in two weeks.
Relatives have created a GoFundMe page to raise money for the Warren family’s expenses, with a goal of $75,000. The webpage states that the child’s father Aaron Warren has been admitted to the hospital for injuries he suffered in the incident.
“The accident totaled their only car, ruined their phones, and swept away their wallets. They are in extreme need, and anything y’all can contribute will be used to pay for Lucas’ funeral,” a relative wrote on the GoFundMe page. “Any donations left after the funeral costs will be sent directly to Aaron and Chelsey to help rebuild their lives. This is the hardest thing anyone in my family has ever been through.”
