A hero Fox Weather meteorologist found himself at the center of his own story early Friday when he rescued a woman trapped in her car on live TV during Hurricane Helene.
Bob Van Dillen was covering the deteriorating conditions around Atlanta — where millions of people braced for life-threatening flooding caused by Helene — when he heard a motorist crying out for help as the waters in Peachtree Creek continued to rise.
“I just put the microphone down and called 911,” he said.
“I know that those guys are swamped, so we waited about five minutes. She was getting panicked a little bit more because the water was coming up a little bit higher.”
FOX Weather Meteorologist Bob Van Dillen rescued a woman during Hurricane Helene in Atlanta. FOX Weather
“The water is like 80 degrees. It’s not cold, but I’m freezing right now,” Van Dillen said. “She was sitting in there by herself, strapped into her car. So I know she was cold.” FOX WeatherThe 6-foot-1 Van Dillen then sprang into action, grabbing the woman from her car and carrying him through chest-deep flood waters to safety as the cameras continued rolling.
“The water is like 80 degrees. It’s not cold, but I’m freezing right now,” Van Dillen said afterward.
“She was sitting in there by herself, strapped into her car. So I know she was cold.”
Helene's path of destruction
- Helene slammed into Florida’s Big Bend coastline Thursday night as a Category 4 hurricane, pounding the state with 155-mph gusts and killing at least 13.
- Helene moved northeast into Georgia, where it was downgraded to a tropical storm by Friday morning, but winds and floods left 25 dead in the state.
- By Friday afternoon, Helene had moved over parts of Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina, where at least 29 died.
- Relentless rain drenched Appalachia Friday night, sending floodwaters and mudslides crashing through mountain towns.
- In North Carolina, at least 35 people died in the Asheville area, and a tornado injured 15 in Rocky Mount.
- Over the weekend, rescuers struggled to clear roads and recover bodies. The death toll is 192 and counting.
“Her husband picked her up, and she’s all good,” Van Dillen said. “But the story now turns not on me, but it turns to how much flooding we’ve seen. I mean … amazing amounts coming in.” FOX Weather
“Her husband picked her up, and she’s all good,” Van Dillen said. “But the story now turns not on me, but it turns to how much flooding we’ve seen. I mean … amazing amounts coming in.” Getty Images
High water rescues of dozens of people being pulled out of an apartment complex happened about a mile upstream from the scene of his rescue efforts. Getty ImagesOn Friday morning, the city was placed under its first-ever flash flood emergency, as Atlanta endured its wettest three-day period in 104 years, Fox reported.
The weatherman said Peachtree Creek recorded its third-highest level ever.
“Her husband picked her up, and she’s all good,” Van Dillen told viewers.
“But the story now turns not on me, but it turns to how much flooding we’ve seen. I mean … amazing amounts coming in.”
The heavy rain over Atlanta has since mostly passed.
At least 42 people across four states have been killed in the wake of Helene, which has since been downgraded to a tropical depression.
It made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane late Thursday night in Florida’s Big Bend region.
