'I couldn't do anything.' Heartbroken dad talks about loss of daughter who died in flash floods
Pamela Nugent was newly engaged and hoped to have a baby, according to her father. Her wedding was planned for October.
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The heartbroken father of a woman who drowned in Sunday’s flash floods is speaking to News 12 about their family’s tragic ordeal.
“The road had fallen out and she went right over," said Edward Nugent.
Nugent says his daughter, 43-year-old Pamela Nugent, was frightened that their house was going to collapse during the storm and took their dog into floodwaters while trying to escape to safety.
Nugent says parts of their 19th-century home’s foundation and their gazebo on Mine Dock Road in Fort Montgomery had already washed away along with large sections of their road, which became a dead-end cliff.
The 73-year-old says he was across the street on higher ground to help Pamela's fiancé, who almost got swept away by the current.
“I went into shock. I don’t think I was thinking about anything. It was so surreal. The water and the landscape changing in front of your eyes," said Nugent.
Full interview with Edward Nugent
Town of Highlands Police Chief Frank Basile was one of two first responders on the scene. He said the floodwaters were 3 feet high and that the conditions, including partially collapsed roads, made it too dangerous to get there to help in time.
"Myself and a state police unit from the Town of Warwick were the only ones available to respond," said Basile. "Roads were washing out. 9W was flooded. There were numerous stranded and abandoned vehicles."
The victim's father says the family’s dog, Minnie, was also carried away by the current but was found alive by a neighbor looking for his daughter.
Pamela was a creative writer with an engineering background who worked for H&H Engineering in Manhattan.
She was newly engaged and hoped to have a baby, according to her father. Her wedding was planned for October.
A GoFundMe has been started to help the family with funeral expenses.
