Heroes of Hilary: Those who went above and beyond during Tropical Storm Hilary

One year later, we're learning more about the heroes of Tropical Storm Hilary, including those who sprang into action when so many lives were in danger. News Channel 3's Peter Daut spoke with three men, who are now looking back on the harrowing experience they say they'll never forget.

It was a terrifying scene last August, as fast-moving mud and water from Tropical Storm Hilary suddenly swept through Cathedral City in the pre-dawn darkness. Police Officer Alex Nguyen's patrol care had been overtaken by mud on Date Palm Drive, careening him into a light pole, where he was unable to open the doors.

In never-before-seen body camera video, you can see he climbed out of the car through the passenger window and onto the hood, desperate to warn a woman who was getting dangerously close the raging mudflow. In the video, you can see him scream to her: " Stop! Stop! Stay right there! Stay right there, ok?"

The moment he finally reaches the sobbing woman, he tries to calm her. "I thought she was going to get washed away for a moment, and she was on all fours yelling and screaming. So I went over and just grabbed her to keep her from going further into the stream," he said.

Officer Nguyen stayed with her until swift-water rescue crews arrived to take her to safety.

"You may have saved her life," Daut said to Nguyen. He responded: "I think it was just the right place at the right time." 

Someone else who was at the right place at the right time was Burrtec mechanic Jesus Martinez, who used his loader to rescue about a dozen residents of a senior living facility on Horizon Road who had been trapped by the mud.

"What must have been going through your mind?" Daut asked him. He replied: "Obviously you don't want to hurt someone with the loader, I mean those things are pretty big. We got everyone out, so that's nice." 

Martinez carefully moved the residents roughly a quarter mile with the loader, since it was the only way to carry them through the deep mud. Luckily, everyone was ok.

In the aftermath of the storm, volunteers stepped in to help clean up, including Gus Araiza from Team Rubicon. He and the other volunteers spent nearly four weeks clearing out homes full of mud and damaged furniture. "It was just unbelievable just how devastated a lot of the homeowners were here, and then even hearing some of the stories like how quickly the water and mud flowed through the houses," Araiza said.

Araiza is a lieutenant with the Palm Springs Police Department, and had just joined Team Rubicon as a volunteer when Hilary hit. "I thought it was something that retirees did, and when I realized there were a lot of volunteers with full-time jobs that were doing this, my wife and I said 'We need to join to do something to help out.' Not knowing it was going to be in our backyard," he said.

Three men with three different perspectives on the storm that devastated Cathedral City. One year later, none of them consider themselves heroes. But Daut asked each of them how the experience has changed their lives:

 "I think it definitely gave me a perspective of how people can come together through times of need to help each other out, and try to make each other's situation a little bit better," Nguyen said.

"It's just cool being able to help someone out, and you know if given the chance to do it again I would jump on it. It's no problem, helping someone out," Martinez said.

"To me it was super inspiring. I think as a society or just being a human being, that's what we're here to do is serve our fellow man when they're in need," Araiza said. 

For more information on Team Rubicon, visit: https://teamrubiconusa.org/