Mindy Beasley rose before the sun Thursday. The eastsider had offered to work a double at the Hilltop Tavern. 

It was still dark out and fog was making it hard to see on her short commute.

Little did she know, that fog was actually steam rolling off floodwater at 9th Street and East Pleasant Run Parkway South Drive. A water main had burst.

By the time she realized, it was too late. Water began filling her Dodge Challenger.

As she rolled her window down, she saw a man waving from the sidewalk, then wading toward her.

He slung her over his shoulders and walked her to the sidewalk. He sent her toward first responders and then he was gone. 

“I’m really bummed out that I didn’t get to thank him,” she said. “I would have hugged him and thanked him a lot. I’m very grateful, and I wish I was able to show him that.”

When a friend dropped her off at work, her fiance was there waiting with a change of clothes. She opened the bar at 6:50 a.m., with 10 minutes to spare.

“I don’t miss work like that,” Beasley said. “I’m covering for two girls and so I wouldn’t have had anybody to cover me.”

Hear Beasley recall the experience in the video above.

Mirror Indy, a nonprofit newsroom, is funded through grants and donations from individuals, foundations and organizations.

Jenna Watson is art director for Mirror Indy. Contact her at jenna.watson@mirrorindy.org.

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