HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Houston Mayor John Whitmire announced another death in the United States due to Hurricane Beryl on Monday.
During a news conference, Whitmire stated that a civilian employee of the Houston Police Department (HPD) died while driving into flood conditions on his way to work Monday morning. The worker’s vehicle submerged near Houston Avenue and I-45 as Hurricane Beryl swept through the city.
The mayor mentioned that the man called HPD for assistance but ultimately drowned. He was a tier-one employee, considered essential. Acting Chief Larry Satterwhite confirmed that 54-year-old Russell Richardson, an information security officer, drowned after being trapped in floodwaters. Richardson’s wife shared a photo of him with.
“I am deeply saddened to report we lost a member of our HPD family (Monday) while he was en route to work during the hurricane,” Satterwhite posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. “We ask everyone to keep Russell’s family – his wife and children – and his coworkers and friends in your prayers.”
In an unrelated incident nearby, authorities rescued a driver stranded in a high-water spot on North Main Street near I-45. HPD reported that a passerby noticed the man in his vehicle on a bridge over the bayou. He was taken to the hospital for treatment. Investigators are unsure if he drove into the high water and stopped or experienced a medical emergency.
Officials also reported that five other people died after trees fell on homes across the Houston area as Beryl battered southeast Texas on Monday morning. Harris County Precinct 4 Constable Mark Herman stated that the first incident occurred in the Atascocita area, while the second happened in the Ponderosa Forest neighborhood in north Harris County.
Montgomery County disclosed to that three deaths resulted from fallen trees, but Jason Millsaps, the director of the county’s emergency management office, did not reveal the locations of those fatalities.
