SAN ANTONIO -- A man had to be rescued after he became trapped in the rain-swollen San Antonio River Wednesday morning.
Emergency crews were called to the San Antonio River near the 2000 block of Roosevelt around 9:15 a.m. Wednesday.
"It was just real cold," Santos Oliva told us. "And it came up really quick."
The 26-year-old said he was taking a nap along the river before Wednesday morning's downpour. The heavy rains caused the river to swell. When he woke up...
"It was just flooded everywhere. I just couldn't get out," explained Oliva.
Oliva said he was stuck and treading water. Luckily, someone saw him from the road and called the fire department.
"When they first came, they threw the rope down, and I was, the water was already like waist high," said Oliva. "And uh, by the time that the boat got there, it was about, up to my shoulders. And they just threw me in the boat and brought me over here to a dry spot."
Firefighters say by the time they got to Oliva, he was about 50 feet from the bank of the river.
"We had approximately 4 units, about 15 personnel with that, maybe more with EMS," said Captain Roger Santos of the San Antonio Fire Department.
Oliva made it out safely and rescue crews headed to their next call. He said he's grateful his morning nap didn't become his last.
"I'm just glad that they saved me," Oliva told us. "I thought I was going to drown."
Oliva is not facing any fines, since there were no barricades up in the area.
