A 20-year-old cyclist was revived with CPR after being sucked through a flooded Arizona bridge tunnel during a botched rescue attempt that nearly claimed a second victim.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Office responded to Sabino Canyon, northeast of Tucson, on Thursday after the young woman tried to ride her bicycle across a bridge as monsoon floodwaters surged through the area. The rushing water swept both the woman and her bike underneath the structure, according to authorities.
Terrifying eyewitness video captured the moment the cyclist became trapped in a hole beneath the bridge, struggling to escape before she was suddenly sucked beneath the churning water. Good Samaritans who had gathered rushed in to try to pull her to safety, but the rescue effort quickly spiraled into a second emergency.
A woman who jumped in to help was also caught in the powerful current and swept downstream, turning the rescue attempt into another emergency. The would-be rescuer was dragged approximately 100 feet before she could be pulled from the water.
“She takes a step back from the rescue efforts as others are trying to say, and she goes underwater and disappears,” Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said.
“And the video pans out to the right downstream, and that tunnel that she disappeared into literally just threw her out another 100 feet down.”
“That’s how powerful that force is,” Nanos added.
Good Samaritans eventually managed to pull both victims from the water. The 20-year-old cyclist was unresponsive after being rescued and required CPR before she regained consciousness. The sheriff’s office said in a Facebook post that she had been underwater for several minutes before rescuers finally extracted her.
“Deputies arrived and assisted the subject out of the drainage,” the post stated.
Two people were transported to a local hospital and were reported to be in stable condition. The sheriff’s office did not release the names of either woman involved in the incident.
Nanos emphasized how narrowly both women escaped death. “What if that tunnel had been clogged? What if she bangs her head? It’s just, you can ‘what if this to death,’ but the real issue is simply don’t do it,” he said.
The sheriff’s warning echoed a message the department posted to social media following the rescue. “PCSD reminds our community: Never attempt to cross flooded washes, whether on a bike, in a vehicle, or on foot,” the post read.
“Fast-moving water is extremely dangerous and puts you and first responders at risk.”
The canyon sits in Pima County, where residents have been dealing with intense monsoon storms that transform normally dry desert washes into deadly torrents. Arizona’s desert terrain, with hard-packed soil and sparse vegetation, allows rainwater to rush off quickly, creating flash flood conditions with little warning.
In the viral moment captured on video, the cyclist can be seen fighting against the current before being pulled under, while voices from the bank shout instructions and warnings. The footage shows the first woman disappearing beneath the bridge, followed by the rescuer being swept away moments later as others on the scene scramble to respond. The video then shows the rescuer surfacing chest-deep in water downstream, disoriented but alive. The entire sequence unfolded in approximately one minute, according to witnesses.
The incident drew comparisons to other recent flash flood rescues in Arizona, where monsoon season regularly catches residents and visitors off guard. In 2017, ten family members died in a flash flood at Payson, and in 2019 three children were swept away in the Tonto Basin. Rescue crews have repeatedly stressed that clear skies overhead can be deceptive, as distant storms can trigger deadly flash floods without immediate warning.
The National Weather Service continues to monitor monsoon conditions across southern Arizona, with flash flood watches remaining active for several desert wash areas through the weekend.