Story Courtesy of The Greater Olney News

Heavy rains caused flooding in Brookeville at about 6:30 this evening, leading to a stranded vehicle and road closures on Route 97 at Brookeville and Brighton Dam roads.

“This storm came rapidly, was fierce and hit both ends of Brookeville very hard,” resident Katherine Farquhar said.

Sandy Spring Volunteer Fire Department Chief Mike Kelley said the water levels were not unusual for a heavy downpour like the rain this evening. “Usually it takes a couple hours to rise that high when we have a long-sustained rain, but we get these flash floods a couple times a year,” he said. “These are the real killers because drivers don’t expect it to overflow that suddenly.”

That was the case tonight when an SUV became stranded in about three feet of water.

SSVFD Deputy Chief Mitch Dinowitz went to the area to inspect road conditions and saw the car enter from the Olney Mill side of Brookeville Road and get stuck.

He called for the SSVFD swift water rescue boat to assist. The individuals in the vehicle got out on their own, but the rescue workers still had to inspect the vehicle.

The roads reopened at about 8:30 p.m., but the National Weather Service has issued a Flood Warning for East Central Montgomery County until 3:30 a.m.

Kelley cautions drivers never to drive through standing water. “You never know if the road was undermined by the swift moving water, similar to a sinkhole,” he said.