Storms Cause Dangerous Flash Flooding In Denver Metro Area

DENVER (CBS4) – From a rescues in Denver to a death in Lakewood, the weekend storms were a reminder of how dangerous flash flooding can be. When the deluge started Saturday night, 48th and Tennyson Street was one place you didn't want to be.

"The first car kind of got stuck because their engine flooded. Then another car got stuck and that's around when firefighters showed up," said Denny Cunningham, who lives near the intersection.

It only took a few minutes for several drivers to learn the hard way not to drive through flash flooding.

"We were looking out the window and we saw one car trying to drive through get stuck and then we came outside and saw the rescue that happened after that," said Chuck Bustos, who watched it all unfold from inside his home.

That rescue happened during the worst of Saturday night's flash flooding. First responders rescued four people from their cars. Nobody was injured.

Under similar weather conditions in Lakewood, a tragedy unfolded. A woman was swept away in high water near Sunset Park.

"We think what happened with this person is that she may have been sucked underneath the water, held down by the force of the water and then pinned up against the banks of the creek," said Ronda Scholting, Public Information Officer for West Metro Fire Rescue.

First responders from West Metro scoured the water but couldn't find the woman Saturday night. When they resumed searching Sunday morning, they found the woman's body down stream.

"It's hard to tell really how fast it's moving and how powerful it is until you actually step into it, even 2 or 3 feet deep it can grab you, pull you under, and then you are gone," Scholting said.

West Metro says the water was chest deep in some areas on Saturday night.