Woman spends 15 hours on overturned car surrounded by rushing Cali floodwater

A woman spent nearly 15 hours stranded on top of her overturned car after rushing floodwaters swept her off a California roadway and into a nearby creek.

Thrilling footage shows rescuers hoisting the woman out of the powerful water and into the safety of a helicopter around 10 a.m. Tuesday.

She can be seen eagerly reaching out to the California Highway Patrol airman after spending the entire night trapped with nothing other than the clothes on her back to keep her warm.

The woman was rushed to a local hospital, where she was treated for hypothermia, but is expected to make a full recovery, the Alameda County Fire Department said.

The woman landed herself in the terrifying situation around 7:30 p.m. the night before when she tried to drive across the flooded road inside Del Valle Regional Park, roughly 20 miles east of Fremont.

She underestimated how deep the water was after recent storms hit the area and was quickly swept away and overturned in the dark.

“She had to swim out of the vehicle,” Fire battalion chief Kent Carlin told WATE.

“[She] climbed on top of the vehicle, then waited it out.”

The woman lost her cell phone and other belongings when her car overturned, meaning she had no way of calling for help herself.

Fortunately, a camper spotted her the next morning and called 911.

Fire officials prepared to deploy rescue swimmers and to lower a ladder to the overturned car before CHP’s Golden Gate Division Air Operations launched its chopper.

“She was actually in good spirts and was talking coherently to us,” Carlin said. “I imagine initially when this happened it was pretty shocking.”

The scary incident is an example of why drivers should avoid driving through water, especially following a rainstorm.

“It’s more powerful than you think. If it’s rapid moving water, like in this circumstance, that water has a lot of power,” the battalion chief said.