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Duty Runs Deep: Trooper Gabriel M. Colbert: The “1,000 Year Flood” Rescue

3,566 views · Published 19 October 2016 · 3:16 · Indexed 18 October 2026

Channel: Motorola Solutions · 2016 · Science & Technology

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In October 2015, first responders and good samaritans across South Carolina answered the call of duty. Among a sea of heroes, one trooper’s efforts stood out as he helped to evacuate three people, including a 2-year-old, trapped by dangerous waters.

00:01 SCREEN TEXT: Trooper Gabriel M. Colbert: The “1,000 Year...In October 2015, South Carolina experienced 26 inches of rain in 4 days.  Lives were lost and flood waters caused $12 billion in damages. 

00:07 TROOPER COLBERT: (VIDEO) The heavy rainfall basically just wouldn’t stop.  Going into that weekend, we knew that the flood was going to begin.  Immediately we lost roadways. We had bridges go down, just going from A to B was a challenge because the route from A to B no longer existed.  We saw houses knocked off foundations.  We saw foundations when the water receded, that you couldn’t identify where a house had been.  

00:30 SCREEN TEXT:  Senior Trooper G.M. Colbert, South Carolina Highway Patrol. TROOPER COLBERT: In the history of mankind, Mother Nature scored one, Mankind 0. There’s nothing you can do to fight Mother Nature.  She is going to win every time.

00:38 TAYLOR COLBERT: When he leaves for a shift, I worry about what he’s going to face.  He’s going to go out there and protect and you know, help as much as he can and that’s his personality. (VIDEO) Yeah there’s always a chance that he might not come back home, but I try not to think about that.  So, you know, when he puts on the uniform, I make sure he’s home.  I love you.

00:43 SCREEN TEXT: Taylor Colbert, Wife of Trooper Colbert

01:00 TROOPER COLBERT: (VIDEO) Not only made it into my assignment area by a few miles, whenever I encountered the first incident, we lost the Interstate. It had completely flooded on the eastbound side.  I parked my car in the first lane up against the wall, got out and as soon as I got out, I could hear individuals yelling for help.  There was a mother, her 2-year-old child and an older gentleman that were in those cars.  At that point in time, I called for assistance from another trooper in the area, Brian Trotter.  He arrived on scene and we had a brief discussion, “Hey what do we need to do?”  We were already under the impression that the fire department was on the way.  They have swift water rescue teams to try to get in and help them, but we had lost another section of the Interstate behind us. So effectively we were trapped. Water was 4 to 5-1/2 feet deep.  I took all my equipment off and gave that to Trotter. Got over the wall, jumped in and it was moving pretty swift, but luckily, for me, it was moving me towards them. So I just kind of floated down the river of the Interstate to them.  Got the 2-year-old first, carried her back over to the wall. (VIDEO) I had her over my head as high as my arms could hold her and, her feet were dangling on my shoulders, which is where the water was.  (VIDEO) 

02:06 SCREEN TEXT: 10/04/2015 L   06:20:40 MI M2
 TROOPER COLBERT:  So, thankfully, Trotter reached over and grabbed her and secured her.  I went back and got the mother, escorted her to the wall and got her over the wall and went back  (VIDEO) and got the older gentleman.  Came back and secured them all in my car.  Made sure everybody was okay.

02:21  TAYLOR COLBERT: (VIDEO) He had jumped in there and didn’t have any life preservers and he just did what he had to do to save them and didn’t think twice about himself.  Just glad he made it through it.

02:32  TROOPER COLBERT:  (VIDEO) There were lives that were lost, but we had troopers in the water trying to get to them, so it was not just me. I mean we were all hands on deck, and everybody made sacrifices, and I think a lot of us put others first, which is what our job is.  In one word, the word is duty.  I mean it’s our job.  (VIDEO) It’s what we’re expected to do, protect, serve, save, rescue, change lives, alter behavior, do everything that you can to make a difference. 

03:00  SCREEN TEXT:  Duty Runs Deep.  State Trooper Gabriel M. Colbert was awarded the 2015 South Carolina Highway Patrol Trooper of the Year “For saving the lives of 3 motorists including a 2-year-old child during this unprecedented “1,000 Year Flood Event”.

03:10  SCREEN TEXT: www.MotorolaSolutions.com/DutyRunsDeep #DutyRunsDeep

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