How Bucks Co. Fatal Flood Started: Timeline Released

UPPER MAKEFIELD TOWNSHIP, PA —It started with the report of a transformer/utility pole that was reportedly struck by lightning.

But what police and fire personnel witnessed over the next 24-48 hours would grip the entire Bucks County region as flash flooding claimed the lives of five people with two children still missing.

The Upper Makefield Township Police Department has provided a "rough timeline" of the events that took place during the flash flooding over the weekend and the rescue and recovery efforts.

Police have said that 11 vehicles were trapped in the flooding and that 10 people were rescued.

Upper Makefield Police said that at 5:26 p.m. Saturday, July 15, police officers and fire personnel were dispatched to the area of Route 532 and Aqueduct Road for a report of a transformer/utility pole that was reportedly struck by lightning.

Police approached the area from the west while fire personnel were responding from the east.

Officers encountered severe flooding in the area. They went further east and found that Route 532 in the area of the 900 block of Washington Crossing Road was completely impassable due to extreme flooding.

At around that same time, Upper Makefield Fire Company personnel encountered even worse flooding in the 1000 block of Washington Crossing Road.

Meanwhile, the utility pole/transformer report was unfounded.

Fire personnel reported numerous vehicles and people had been swept away by the raging waters. And around that time, the police department received 911 calls reporting the same.

Fire personnel rescued nine motorists from their vehicles and water. Police officers also assisted with the rescue of a motorist who was trapped in their vehicle, bringing the total to 10 people.

Also, during this time, numerous local police and fire departments, search and rescue teams, and drone units responded to assist in trying to save nine people who were swept away by the flash flood into Houghs Creek.

At 6:20 p.m. Saturday, an incident command post was established at the Washington Crossing United Methodist Church.

Between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m., authorities recovered the bodies of Enzo DePiero, Susan Barnhart, and Katie Seley.

Later in the evening, authorities learned that two people who had been swept away were able to escape the flood waters and were now at a residence on Stonebridge Crossing Road.

Emergency personnel was sent to the home and both parties were taken to a local hospital for treatment.

On Sunday morning, the command post was now established at Station #71 and search operations resumed.

Around 11 a.m. Sunday, the extensive search operations resulted in the teams finding Yuko Love. At 12:15 p.m., Linda DePiero was found.

"We hope this timeline provides a further understanding of what occurred during those first 24-48 hours," the police department said. "The search involved countless local, county, and state agencies coordinating their efforts to rescue the nine people swept away. The families will always remain in our thoughts and prayers and we will continue to be available to assist them in anyway possible."

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(Photos Courtesy of the Upper Makefield Police Department)