Vance County Man's Death Blamed On Flash Flooding

Marvin Snipes was on his way to his job in Morrisville at 5 a.m. Monday when his pickup truck was caught in a flash flood near Nut Bush Creek.

"He's gone. He was here one moment and then he was gone," said Karen Snipes, Marvin's widow.

Officials say the water level was so high that it flooded some of Henderson's wastewater treatment plant, sending partially treated sewage into the creek and over Highway 39, where Snipes tried to cross. Authorities found Snipes' truck nearly crushed near a tunnel. Authorities found his body hundreds of feet away.

"He apparently saw it as the last moment. The water was already too high for his vehicle to make it across," said Stephen Winn, Snipes' brother-in-law. "It is my feeling that he got out of the vehicle and tried to swim to save his life."

"He did anything and everything to make his family happy," Karen said.

Snipes is survived by his wife and four children. Snipes' family believes future lives can be saved if officials put in guardrails near the creek.

Another death in Winston-Salem is being blamed on flash flooding.