An Ingram, Texas, man died in the Independence Day flood as he took action to save the lives of his family. The man sustained a fatal laceration as he broke out a window to help his family climb to the roof to escape the rapidly rising waters of the Guadalupe River.
Julian Ryan, age 27, and his fiancée, children and mother were in their Ingram home when the Guadalupe River spilled over its banks and began to rapidly flood their home, KHOU CBS11 reported. Officials report the waters rose more than 26 feet in less than three hours Friday morning. Ryan’s fiancée, Christina Wilson, said the water was up to their knees in minutes.
As the water invaded their home, Ryan quickly took action to move his family to safety. “It just started pouring in, and we had to fight the door to get it closed to make sure not too much got in. We went back to the room and started calling 911,” Wilson told the CBS affiliate.
Tragically, Ryan punched out a window to create an escape pathway for his family. That action caused a life-threatening laceration to his arm, nearly severing the limb. “It severed his artery in his arm and almost cut it clean off,” Wilson explained.
Wilson said Ryan looked at her and his family and told them, “I’m sorry, I’m not going to make it. I love y’all.
The rapidly rising water prevented first responders from being able to reach the family to provide help. His family was forced to climb to safety.
Wilson said, Ryan’s body was recovered hours later when the waters receded.
CBS Austin reports that Ryan’s mobile home was located about 200 yards from the Guadalupe River. His sister, Connie Salas lives in the home next door.
“He’s someone who chose to sacrifice his life for the most loving people he would ever love,” Salas told the reporter. “He needs to be known as a person, not just some body on the ground for seven hours. He’s not just a dead body. He’s somebody.”
CBS Austin reported that Ryan broke the window to help get his family and pets to the roof for safety.
“I mean, extremely heroic. And the only thing he was worried about was getting us safe, making sure the kids were safe, making sure that we were okay,” Wilson told the CBS affiliate. “We were trapped by a door that wouldn’t open because it was being pushed by water.”
Social media exploded with posts honoring the sacrifice of the young man who gave his life that his family might live.
Bob Price is the Breitbart Texas-Border team’s associate editor and senior news contributor. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Price is a regular panelist on Fox 26 Houston’s What’s Your Point? Sunday morning talk show. He is a U.S. Air Force veteran and serves as president of Blue Wonder Gun Care Products.
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