Military vehicle that rescued Overland Park family from flood on way to Houston

This flood rescue business is getting to be a regular thing for two men at a Blue Springs landscaping business.

A week after driving a high and heavy military vehicle to Overland Park with the intent of saving a family of seven trapped on the roof of their home by flood waters, the pair were headed to Houston on Monday night to lend their assistance to people ravaged by Hurricane Harvey.

“I’ve got a brother right outside the metroplex area and he told me the water is chest deep around his house and they are sitting there waiting for someone to come get them,” Spencer Sherf said Monday as he and Cyrus Dawson prepared to hit the road.

The military surplus Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck — with eight 52-inch wheels and weighing in at 20 tons — can do an impressive 65 mph on the highway. Sherf figured they’ll make the 745-miles to Houston by Tuesday morning. The rain is expected to continue there for days.

The men plan to coordinate with local authorities for access to flooded areas.

Sherf estimated the truck can safely navigate water to a depth of about 7 feet.

He and Dawson were ready to rescue the Overland Park family who were stranded on their roof about eight hours last Tuesday. But by the time Dawson and Sherf got there the family had climbed down.

The monster truck that has become a rescue vehicle is used by Dawson’s Stonehenge Landscape & Exteriors to deliver materials for new swimming pools, landscaping and masonry jobs. On Monday it was being fitted with jet skis and a 25-man raft for the Houston mission.

Sherf, 32, is an amateur weather buff who chases storms every spring. He said both his girlfriend and his mother tried to talk him out of the Houston trip but that he and Dawson have put their minds to it.

“I’ve got several friends down there,” Sherf said. “Anything I can do to help out, whether it’s to bring supplies or lend a helping hand, I’m passionate about.”

This story was originally published August 28, 2017 at 6:09 PM with the headline "Military vehicle that rescued Overland Park family from flood on way to Houston."