Dad dies after having arm ‘almost cut clean off' while saving wife & kids as they floated on mattress in Texas floods

Scottish Sun

2 days ago

The devoted dad parted with a heartbreaking last message for his family
HERO LOST Dad dies after having arm 'almost cut clean off' while saving wife & kids as they floated on mattress in Texas floods
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window)
Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
A HEROIC dad-of-two died after having his arm cut "almost clean off" while trying to save his family from the Texas floods that have killed more than 50 people.
Julian Ryan, 27, bled out after sustaining a horrific gash, but his actions helped his wife and kids to escape the surging water.
Sign up for Scottish Sun
newsletter
Sign up
10
Julian Ryan, 27, died while trying to save his family from the floods
Credit: KHOU11
10
Julian's wife Christinia and mom Marilyn tell their awful story to local reporters
Credit: KHOU11
10
Julian and Christinia with their two kids
Credit: KHOU11
10
Trucks and other heavy machinery were left strewn around the river and surrounding area
Credit: Getty
Julian, a restaurant dishwasher, was asleep in his trailer home alongside his mother Marilyn, fiancée Christinia and six-year-old and 13-month-old children when the floods hit.
Everyone rushed into the couple's bedroom when they were awoken by water pouring in, Christinia told the New York Times.
It rapidly rose up to waist height and the mattress began to float - so so the kids hastily placed on it.
Christinia told KHOU 11: 'It just started pouring in, and we had to fight the door to get it closed to make sure not too much got in."
With no escape route, Julian looked to the only option: the window.
He punched through the glass, but the broken edges almost cut his arm clean off, Christinia told KHOU, and severed an artery.
As blood poured from Julian's limb, the other two adults tried calling 911 - but nobody came.
Julian was losing consciousness from blood loss and the water had risen up to their chins.
With his dying words, Julian told his family: "I'm sorry, I'm not going to make it. I love y'all."
Christinia said the trailer was eventually broken in half by the force of the currents - allowing the rest of the family to escape.
Woman, 22, swept 20 MILES by Texas floods & left clinging to tree in rescue... but 25 children still missing from camp
She said: '[Julian] was the best father, and was always such a happy person who was never above helping people, no matter what it cost.
'He died trying to save us.'
A GoFundMe has been set up to support the family after they lost Julian, and it has so far raised almost $30,000.
It reads: 'Julian gave his life for his family, passing as a true hero. While his family is eternally grateful for his sacrifice, they are shattered by their loss."
10
Piers (left) and Ruffin (right) Boyett had to swim out of their camp cabin to higher ground
Credit: KSAT
10
Vehicles and heavy machinery are littered across the landscape after being picked up by the water
Credit: getty
Julian's story is one of tragedy and sacrifice, but there have also emerged some tales of miraculous survival.
Two brave young brothers told of their gutsy escape from a fast-flooding cabin room.
Piers and Ruffin Boyett were asleep in a cabin at Camp La Junta on the bank of the Guadeloupe River when it was hit by a wall of water at 4am on Friday morning.
They awoke to find water rising rapidly around them - and were forced to make a split-second decision.
10
The plucky pair knew immediately that they had to swim.
Younger brother Piers told KSAT: "The flood started getting bigger.
"We had bunk beds in our cabins and [the water] was going up to the top bunk and we had one choice — and we had to swim out of our cabin.'
Ruffin, the elder one, said: 'I had a first-hand view of the flood.
"The cabins were flooding and the walls, they broke down.
'All of the campers in those cabins had to go up on the rafters and wait there until they could swim out."
The brothers fought through the water to reach another cabin on higher ground.
10
The heartbreaking scene in Camp Mystic, from dozens of girls went missing
Credit: AFP
10
A Center Point resident sits on a tree after the waters have subsided
Credit: Getty
10
Campers hug after arriving at a reunification center following the floods
Credit: AP
They waited there until a rescue bus arrived to take them away from the Guadeloupe River and back to safety.
Rescuers are still scouring the devastated landscape in central Texas, but hopes of finding survivors are fast dwindling.
Larry Leitha, Kerr County sheriff, said on Saturday: "We have recovered 43 deceased individuals in Kerr County.
"Among these who are deceased we have 28 adults and 15 children."
Multiple people lost their lives in other counties, bringing the current confirmed death toll to 50 - though this is sadly expected to rise.
The most desperate search is for a group of school-age girls who went missing from Camp Mystic - a Christian summer camp near the river.
Heartbreaking photos from the wrecked site show sodden mattresses and teddies strewn across dormitories.
On Saturday, Sheriff Leitha said 27 of the children were still missing.