A Florida father died after flash flooding trapped his truck. His wife says he called her in fear shortly before the vehicle was submerged.
Joshua Bennett, 34, of Palm Bay, died Monday after heavy rain caused flooding in Brevard County on Florida’s east-central coast. He had reportedly left home to get coffee when he came across the rising water.
Bennett’s wife, Stacy Petit Bennett, said he called her on FaceTime as floodwater surrounded his truck on San Filippo Drive. He was crying and told her he didn’t know what to do, she recalled, adding that he described the vehicle as being underwater and surrounded by what looked like a river.
She urged him to break a window. The call then cut off. She called 911 and spent hours trying to get help.
Petit Bennett described her husband as a devoted father and partner. The couple had four children, including three with special needs and twin daughters who were born prematurely. She said the children keep asking when their father will return.
Bennett was one of two people who died in the Brevard County flooding. Archie Richards, 78, was found dead in his vehicle near Richards Lane and Hall Road, according to the county sheriff’s office.
Fatal flooding incidents have also occurred elsewhere in recent months. In October, three women, including a 24-year-old French travel influencer, died in Nicaragua after strong currents swept away a pickup truck carrying travelers. Earlier in the summer, a Utah family of five died when flash floods hit a hiking and canyoneering area near Sunglow Campground in Fishlake National Forest.
