Luke Nelson

Luke Nelson helped save Carla Reyna from drowning, Dallas, Texas, September 25, 2024. Reyna, 71, was driving her sport utility vehicle when she encountered a flooded bridge above a swollen creek. As Reyna drove across the bridge, the rising water lifted her vehicle off the road and rotated it, before the SUV came to rest with its undercarriage atop a submerged guide rail along the edge of the bridge. Nelson, 35, insurance broker, had driven across the bridge minutes before amid rising water and heavy debris and had stopped to assess possible damage to his vehicle. Nelson then saw Reyna’s vehicle float, rotate, and come to rest on the guide rail as she tried to cross the bridge. Nelson called 911 before handing his phone to a bystander. He then removed his shirt, belt, shoes, and socks before wading toward Reyna’s vehicle in only his dress pants, stating he feared the driver might drown without help. Nelson waded about 100 feet to the submerged guide rail. He then walked along the guide rail before encountering a drop-off, at which point he submerged. Unable to touch bottom, Nelson moved to the vehicle’s driver’s door. From there, he managed to locate the guide rail again, this time using it to anchor his foot as he partially reemerged from the water. Nelson then used the leverage to help open the door enough to reach in and grasp Reyna. Nelson then helped her exit the vehicle before helping her maneuver to its hood. Reyna briefly entered the water before she determined she could not swim to safety against the current and returned to the hood, now submerged, where Nelson used his body weight to stabilize her until responding firefighters arrived. Firefighters parked just west of the flooded creek and extended their truck’s 107-foot rescue ladder to within about 20 feet of the SUV. Firefighters then threw Reyna a flotation device attached to a rope, then pulled her to safety at the ladder. Firefighters then threw the flotation device to Nelson, who then used it to swim to the ladder, at which point he also exited the water. Reyna suffered bruising to her left upper arm but did not require medical attention; she recovered. Nelson suffered minor scratches but did not require medical treatment at the scene; he recovered.