A Columbus County man saves a couple and their dog from flooding waters

A couple and their down were almost swept away by flooding water until one brave resident stepped in to save them.

COLUMBUS COUNTY, NC (WWAY) —  Kenji Bowen and his girlfriend were at the right place and time.

“I didn’t care if I couldn’t swim. I didn’t think about it until I got to the truck,” Bowen says.
Keelin:” Do you realize how dangerous this was?”
Caitlin: “I mean, I think we do now.
Kenji: “I do know how dangerous it was. I have a family friend’s uncle who got swept away during Florence. He passed away. So I knew when I saw that couple I was like- It brought back like, ‘Man, I don’t want that to happen to them too.’”

The 24-year-old Columbus native explains what happened Monday night when he and his girlfriend, Caitlin Cahill, were trying to get home safely.

“He hesitated and stopped like he wasn’t going to go. I said, ‘He wasn’t going to go,’ and that’s when she said, ‘He’s going through it,’” Bowen says.

That’s when he saw three lives needing help; a couple and their dog. Then he sprinted into the high water, in the pouring rain, to save them. He did what any other Good Samaritan would do.

“I grabbed his bumper and, I went to talk to him,” Bowen says. “He tried to open the door. I told him to shut it. I grabbed his arm and I pulled him up.”

Keelin: “Were you guys scared at all?
Caitlin: “I mean, I was a little nervous when I lost my footing.
Kenji: “I was nervous about the guy, more than the girl because he was trying to save his dog.”

The truck went underwater. Wednesday, the couple was shocked to see that the water and the pick-up were gone.

His mother, Mamie Bowen says she is proud of Kenji for helping.

“I was a little bit scared too watching him go into that water because, every so often, we hear about people being swept,” Mamie Bowen says.

Bowen was named, ‘The Flash,’ for his quickness on the football field when he went to the East Columbus High School; something he carried with him into his life.

“I risked it. I took a chance and I’m glad I did take a chance,” Bowen says.