Man rescued by Chester prosecutor will make it after all to Florida – his destination before being caught in S.C. flood
George Osterhues – a Canadian man saved from a car caught in floodwaters in Columbia – will make it to Florida after all, again thanks to the local family who didn’t hesitate to be heroes on Sunday.
Tom and Julie Hall and their family – Julie Hall a Chester County prosecutor – rescued Osterhues from his vehicle almost completely submerged in floodwaters. He had stopped in Columbia on his way to Florida this past weekend.
Tom Hall, a 1989 Citadel University graduate, posted on Facebook that Osterhues needed a ride to Florida and he says that within minutes, Citadel alumni stepped up to organize the trip. Osterhues’ car was totaled in the flood that claimed lives and created devastation around much of South Carolina’s state capitol city.
“Incredible generous community at The Citadel,” Hall said.
The Herald’s story of the Hall family saving 87-year-old Osterhues has become a national story of heroism.
The story, first reported in Andrew Dys’ column Monday at heraldonline.com, has been shared all over America through social media. Now national cable networks are interviewing the Halls to tell the story of courage and help for a stranger.
Anderson Cooper aired a story on the Halls and their actions on Tuesday night on CNN.
Amazing rescue in South Carolina. 87-year-old George Osterhues and his dog were saved by strangers after rushing flood...
Posted by Anderson Cooper 360 on Tuesday, October 6, 2015
“I keep telling everyone that I only did what we as people are supposed to do in a crisis – and that is help out,” said Tom Hall, a lawyer from Chester County.
Tom Hall rushed into a flooded creek to save Osterhues, who had become lost and then stranded in his car in flooding after getting off Interstate 77 north of Columbia on Sunday. Hall, his wife, Julie, deputy solicitor for the 6th Circuit in Chester, and the couple’s sons all helped pull Osterhues and Osterhues’ dog to safety.
Hall said he deserves no special praise.
“I am a husband and a father and I did what I would hope any man would do in that situation,” Hall said. “I’m not a hero. I’m a guy.”
Julie Hall continues to say her family’s actions – despite the danger – are what she would hope others would do for her loved ones.
This story was originally published October 6, 2015 at 6:21 PM with the headline "Man rescued by Chester prosecutor will make it after all to Florida – his destination before being caught in S.C. flood."