Grosse Pointe Woods Residents Rescue Stranded Motorist

residents helped remove an elderly woman from a flooding car in the 900 block of Sunningdale Road on Wednesday as storms rolled through southern Michigan. 

Neighbors Sara Sessions and Sue Secord called police Wednesday after a vehicle stalled and was stranded in the middle of the street in front of their homes, Sessions said. Officers responded but had difficulty getting down the street. Sessions and Secord felt they couldn't wait any longer, so they pulled the woman from her vehicle, Sessions said.

Secord took the woman into her home and then helped her get dried off. Sessions remained outside to help another stranded motorist, whose car was not taking on water, she said. 

Secord also walked the woman back to her home about one block down Sunningdale. ". . .she was a lovely woman and very appreciative," Sessions said.

Sessions and Secord stayed outside to clear the storm drains to improve drainage. 

The woman was wet but not injured , Woods Detective Sgt. Raymond Yonkowski said. Pointe Towing sent two tow trucks to Grosse Pointe Woods specifically to help the police address stalled-out vehicles in flooded streets, he said. 

Although minor flooding has been reported by readers in the Farms and other areas of the Grosse Pointes, the Woods has been hardest hit. Many streets are not conducive to driving. 

Yonkowski said the flooding in the Woods is likely due to a change the city implemented a few years ago to the storm drains that allows for slower drainage. The drains have fewer holes to prevent basement flooding, he said. In the past, the storm system would easily be overwhelmed and flood basements, he said. 

Flooded basements and homes are evident in the Farms as emergency water removal/repair trucks and vans are parked in the driveways and in front of homes throughout the city. 

Although the streets are clearing when there is a break in rain, flooding is likely to continue happening until the storm passes, which the National Weather Service predicts won't be until late Thursday. 

explaining heavy periods of rain will come in waves today and through Thursday night, with 1 to 3 inches falling in each spurt. Flooding is likely due to the heavy rain but also because of the already saturated ground from the especially wet spring weather the area has experienced, according to the watch. 

Grosse Pointe Public Schools has also canceled the honors night due to flooded streets. It has been rescheduled to Wednesday, June 1, at 7 p.m. Grosse Pointe Public Schools spokeswoman Rebecca Fannon said flooding in the parking lot at  also caused problems Wednesday.

The district is also shutting down all forms of communication for emergency repair work at 4 p.m. The system experienced some damage from the storms that rolled through Monday. All of the technology must be shut down in order for the repair work to be completed, according to an announcement on the district website.

The technology will be shut off at 4 p.m. and be turned back on after the repairs are complete, which officials are expecting will be tonight. All of the systems—telephone, email, Zangle, Pinnacle and the Internet—are expected to be in full working order for Thursday. 

Schools are canceling field days, and many high school sporting events also have been canceled or postponed.

This story was updated at 5:16 p.m. Wednesday, May 25.

CORRECTION: This story was altered Wednesday, May 25, 2011, at 9:48 p.m. to provide more details about the rescue of an elderly woman from her car by two Sunningdale Road residents.