MIAMI (WSVN) - Near-record rainfall on Father’s Day led to a soggy nightmare for a Miami driver who became stranded after floodwaters ruined his car.
Herman Ochoa said he walked out of his home on 23rd Street and Biscayne Boulevard to find his red 2015 Volkswagen partially submerged, Sunday afternoon.
His first reaction was anger.
“What the [expletive], bro?” he is heard saying on cellphone video of the damaged vehicle.
When he went to open the passenger side door of the hatchback, Ochoa said, water came gushing out.
“When I opened it, it was all the way up to here,” he said as he pointed to the driver’s seat.
The driver said the weather-driven mishap ruined his Father’s Day plans.
“We were about to go have lunch with my dad and the whole family and friends, and I had to cancel all those plans,” he said.
Soaked and frustrated, Ochoa took out his smartphone and began recording the soggy mess and flooded street, as his Volkswagen and several other cars sat partially underwater.
The water has since dried up, but on Sunday night Ochoa’s car remained filled with water. To make matters worse, it won’t even crank, leaving him stuck.
“None of the lights are working, either. Everything that has to do with the wires — all the sensors inside, none of that is working, the radio — it’s not turning on,” he said.
Ochoa has since talked to his insurance company, who told him the car he’s owned for three years is a total loss. With about $5,000 worth of damage, he has been left without a ride and forced to shell out cash to buy a new one.
“I’m super pissed off, you know. I didn’t expect it, and now I’m going to have to see how I’m going to be transported,” he said. “Thank God my parents have some other cars they can lend me in the meantime, but now I have to deal with all the process of getting a new car, you know? I didn’t want to go through that.”
Meteorologists said they expect rainy weather to linger across South Florida for much of this week.
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