Man saves drowning woman

On April 4, approximately 6:00 p.m. Dustin Roach risked his life while rescuing a woman at Wright Patman, when a 2000 GMC Yukon carrying two passengers reportedly lost control of their vehicle and ended up in the Cass County side of the spillway. After seeing the accident firsthand while fishing, Roach jumped into the spillway to save the woman.

“I had just driven in from Ashdown where I live, stopped at the bait store to get some hooks and weights. Got to the spillway and threw my cast net and picked up some shad to catch some catfish and I was setting up to fish when I heard the vehicle crash into the guardrail as I looked up, I saw the vehicle nose dive into the water and it popped up for a second and the water sucked it right back down and never came back up,” recalled Roach.

After the accident, Roach was convinced that no one survived until he saw the woman pop up out of the water. It was at that point Roach jumped in headfirst to save her. “I saw the women pop up out of the water then it sucked her back under she came back up 10 to 15 yards down and I knew I had to do something or she wouldn’t make it,” said Roach.

“As I got to her, I saw she was bleeding from the mouth and had several cuts. I grabbed her by the arm with my left hand and began just swimming backward towards the bank,” said Roach.

However, things began to get scary when the intense current tried to swallow both of them up, Roach recalled, “The current was swift and I was not getting much closer to the bank but I kept swimming saying God, please help me save this woman.”

“By the time we got out of most of the heavy current I was getting close to the shore but I was giving out and tired…”

“I began yelling to the fishermen on the bank to help. I just kept yelling help, help, help... Finally, I felt that fishing line touch my arm and I wrapped it around my arm several times and started yelling pull!”

Roach didn’t think he had much more left. He was extremely exhausted and couldn’t swim much more. “The fishermen kept tugging the weight broke off the line and it began to slip out of my arms... I held on as tight as I could and was finally able to reach a tree and some people at the bank began assisting the lady and seeing to me.”

It was later reported the lady Roach pulled out of the spillway was Lucia Mendoza, 29, of Texarkana. As of Monday, at 5:27 p.m. when this story was written, regrettably the second person in the vehicle has not been found. Authorities recovered the automobile out of the water Sunday night.

Texas Game Warden Captain Shawn Hervey noted the man’s bravery in a news conference Monday afternoon, but cautioned that each person knows his own ability and that it is extremely dangerous to jump into a current like the one in the spillway.

Of note, when Roach jumped in with his clothes and shoes he was soaked when he got out, only having the dry overalls in his car that he is seen in on the news. Roach also lost his hat and sunglasses in the rescue. Roach is a carpenter and builds post-frame shops and houses for a living.