Flooding blocks streets, stalls cars in south suburbs and on Chicago’s South Side

Click here for updates on this story

    CHICAGO, Illinois (WBBM) — Heavy downpours caused flooding in the south suburbs and the South Side of Chicago Wednesday, stranding some drivers who stalled out on the washed-out roads.

Storms moved into the Chicago area overnight and continued through midday, bringing rounds of heavy downpours, thunder and lightning in waves throughout the area.

In Dolton, cars had to carefully navigate flooded roads, or risk becoming stuck in the high waters. Several cars had stalled out on 144th Street near Indiana Avenue.

Around 11:30 a.m., one woman in Dolton got her car stuck in water so high that she couldn’t get out. She had to be rescued by a firefighter.

“Very frightening — especially when he was carrying me on his shoulders, I was afraid he might slip. But he got me safely,” she said. “Then I couldn’t get across the street, and you know, my car was there and I couldn’t see the bottom of it, and the tow truck couldn’t get to me because the water was so high.”

The woman warned people not to try to drive through floodwaters.

“Unless you feel very adventurous and want to do the backstroke out here, don’t do it,” she said.

People in south suburban Robbins faced similarly treacherous commutes. Drivers were urged not to try to drive through standing water, even if it looks shallow, and to find alternate routes lest they stall out when the flooding is deeper than it looks.

There was also flooding on the South Side of Chicago. At 119th Street and Vincennes Avenue near eastbound I-57, the four-lane road was reduced by standing water to two lanes, leaving drivers slowly crawling towards the highway entrance ramps.

Another round of storms is expected in the afternoon and evening, especially in the south suburbs and Northwest Indiana, where a tornado watch is in effect until 10 p.m.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.