North Carolina flood victim dies after leaping from car into water

ALEXANDER COUNTY, NC – One person was killed and another was rescued during flash flooding in North Carolina over the weekend, according to local officials.

This death comes after more deadly flash flooding swamped parts of the Northeast over the weekend and nearly a week after deadly flooding soaked areas from the mid-Atlantic to New England.

Just before midnight on July 15, the Alexander County Sheriff’s Office said it, along with other emergency crews, responded to reports of a water rescue along Duck Creek Drive.

According to emergency dispatches, two people needed to be rescued, with one of the victims clinging to a tree.

That victim was located, and emergency crews were able to use a raft to perform the successful rescue.

The rescued victim said there was a second victim who had jumped out of a vehicle into the fast-moving floodwaters.

The search for that victim continued throughout the night and into the daytime hours.

That victim, who was identified as Lisa Michelle Riahi, 49, of Hickory, North Carolina, was found dead about 2 miles from where the incident took place.

The sheriff’s office said that Alexander County Emergency Management officials had reported more than 7 inches of rain fell in the area at the time of the deadly incident.

The investigation is ongoing, according to the sheriff’s office.