2008: Close shave for SanDee Skelton

6 a.m. Thurs., June 12 ---- SanDee Skelton woke up at her daughter's home, and drove to her house to gather a few more things before the water closed in.

“When I got to a block from my house, there was like an inch of water on the street,” Skelton said. But the water was rising rapidly, she said, and when she tried to turn her car around, it stalled. She called 911.

“The current was so hard, and I could feel the car rocking back and forth,” she said.

She managed to get to the passenger window while water flowed onto her feet. The dispatcher told her firefighters were on their way.

“I just went into a total relax mode,” said Skelton. “I said, ‘OK, I'm in God's hands.'”

She called her niece and told her to tell everyone she loved them. Her niece told her to try to get out of the car.

“Put the cellphone in your bra, and give me a play-by-play as you try to get out,” Skelton remembers her saying.

Sklelton slid over to the passenger seat, and tried to climb out the window.

“My leg kept floating back, because the current was so hard,” Skelton said.

That's when the she heard the sirens. Firefighters brought a raft down to her, and took her up to dry land. When she looked back, she said, her car was nearly submerged.

“I could just see the beige colored top, like it was a sidewalk or something,” she said.