LOS ANGELES — The woman clung to a tree in pitch darkness. Nearby, her gray pickup was submerged in murky, brown water.
She was trapped along a fair-weather bridge, a causeway built over Coyote Creek just north of Ventura. The creek had overflowed and flooded the crossing after a powerful storm barreled into the area last Monday.
About 100 feet away, voices called out over the rushing water. Hold tight, they told her. A rescue swimmer is coming.
