LITTLE ROCK, Ark.- Parts of Pinnacle Valley Road and County Farm Road disappear under water.
Flooded homes in west Pulaski County have become helpless islands.
The dire situation propelled Redfield resident, Keith Kennedy, to put his own spin on rescue efforts.
“A lot of the people out here are older,” Kennedy says.
Last weekend, he hitched up his airboat and came to the area for what he thought was going to be helping a friend load up flood-prep materials.
“And, I get here and Little Rock Fire Department Water Rescue is on a call, and they’re like ‘Uh, can you hang around for a few minutes?'” Kennedy says.
His uniquely equipped airboat allowed him to maneuver through flood waters in places where traditional boats cannot.
“The prop is not in the water. You move off air propulsion,” Kennedy says. “With this, you just slide across the top of everything.”
Those abilities allowed him to rescue more than a dozen people in the County Farm Road neighborhoods. He shuttled people from wet homes to dry land.
Touring the same neighborhoods a week later, water is still seeping into garages and homes and street signs barely hover over the fast-moving current.
It’s a scene that grabs the attention of any passing ship, in this case, it happened to be a unique watercraft Keith was happy to helm.
“We should help each other,” Kennedy says. “We really should.”
