Police officer rescues bride stranded in New Jersey floodwaters
A woman decked out in her bridal gown had to be rescued by police in New Jersey recently via the sunroof of a car when her wedding party got swept up in the floodwaters currently soaking the Northeast.
"Unfortunately due to the quickly rising flood waters, this bride, her new husband and wedding party friends, got a rough start on things," the Bogota Police Department posted alongside a video of the rescue Saturday. "The fortunate thing is we were able to help them through their first rough patch."
The video captured a Bogota officer standing on top of his vehicle Saturday and holding the hand of Sabrina Torrens as she moved from her car to the police vehicle, first, appearing to remove her shoes and then making sure to keep her voluminous gown from touching the muddy waters.
Torrens and Connor Reilly had gotten married Saturday in New Jersey and were traveling in Torrens' brother-in-law's car. Reilly said that the flood occurred quickly.
"When we drove through it [the water], it was nothing more than a puddle," he said. "Within four or five minutes, it went from a puddle to a raging river."
"I was terrified," Torrens said.
In another Facebook post, the Bogota Police Department said that within an hour Saturday, the area received more than an inch of rain -- more than 4 feet high from upstream and in less than 15 minutes.
The department said it had used a Humvee, a new addition to its fleet, to rescue the bride and her bridal party.
"If you are from the area, you know that it is flood prone. ... This was not the normal flood!!" the department said.
Torrens said her dress and shoes were ruined but after the officers helped them out of the stalled vehicle, the newlyweds continued on their way to their reception.
"Let's put it this way, at the very least, we have a story to tell people," Reilly said.
The two have put the weekend's festivities behind them and are on their way to sunny -- and hopefully dry -- Jamaica for a honeymoon, the couple said.
"We would like to thank you all for the kind words and comments to the bride and groom on our last post, which has brought much attention. There were many people taking pictures and videos in the area during that time and we wanted to keep the decorum professional, because they already have been through enough on their special day," the police department wrote on its Facebook page.
"We hope the bride and groom had a great wedding day and we wish nothing but the best for them."
