ASHLAND, N.H. — A flash flood roared through a New Hampshire campground, sweeping a Rhode Island family’s sport utility vehicle downstream, killing a 7-year-old girl and leaving her mother and 5-year-old brother clinging to a tree until they were rescued, authorities said.
The flood at the Ames Brook Campground on Thursday evening followed a storm that dumped several inches of rain on parts of the state.
Witnesses said the girl’s father had left the vehicle when it was swept into the current about 6 p.m., said Chris Harris, who led the rescue team that took the girl’s mother and brother to safety.
The man screamed for help from the banks as the vehicle was pushed downstream, witnesses said.
“We heard the man screaming bloody murder,” said camper Theresa Simione, 41. “He was screaming, ‘Help, help. The car is in the water. My family’s in the car. Call 911. Help me, help me.’ ”
The man’s wife and son managed to escape the SUV and grab a tree, but the daughter was trapped inside, authorities said.
Harris said rescuers reached the woman and her son about 7 p.m.
“The water had her pinned against an apple tree, and she was holding onto her son,” Harris said. “She was yelling for help: ‘I can’t hold onto him much longer. You need to give me some help.’ ”
He said most of the woman’s clothes had been torn off by the raging water. Her son was unconscious, and both were hypothermic.
Stewart said the boy was stable Friday at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon. The family has asked officials not to release their names until they’ve notified relatives.
