Man dies in storms’ floodwaters; another saved

SHREVEPORT, La. (KSLA) — One man died and another was rescued when their vehicle became submerged in floodwaters under the Union Pacific Railway bridge in Shreveport’s Ingleside neighborhood, authorities report.

It happened at Hearne Avenue at Midway Avenue during torrential rains Saturday.

Shreveport Fire Department crews were dispatched at 5:35 p.m. First responders arrived on the scene at 5:43 p.m. to find the two men trapped by the rising floodwaters.

They rescued one man. “But due to the rising and fast-moving waters, the second male victim briefly surfaced and then went under and sadly never resurfaced,” says a statement from the Fire Department.

Shreveport firefighters and police officers tried to locate the second man but had to be rescued from the waters themselves due to the rising and swift current.

First responders searched throughout the evening and into the overnight hours. As the waters receded, firefighters were able to locate 58-year-old James Jefferson’s body at 2:43 a.m. Sunday. The Caddo coroner’s office was notified by police.

Jefferson died in an underpass in the 4400 block of Hearne Avenue; he couldn’t escape the rising floodwaters.

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