Heart-pounding moment trapped driver is saved from sinking car by man in his underwear seconds before it goes underwater in flash floods

Read the original at Daily Mail ↗
Cite

Nickel, A. (2026, October 22). Heart-pounding moment trapped driver is saved from sinking car by man in his underwear seconds before it goes underwater in flash floods. Daily Mail. https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16228865/reporter-flood-ute-rescue-Queensland-Morayfield.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

Daily Mail · collected 2026-10-22 · by Ashley Nickel

Quick Summary

During heavy flooding in southeast Queensland, an ABC reporter named Will Murray and another man rescued a driver from a sinking car on Buchanan Road in Morayfield, north of Brisbane. With over 170 millimeters of rain falling in three hours, Murray swam through rushing water to reach the stalled vehicle and help free the trapped driver just before the car submerged completely. The incident highlights the dangers of driving into floodwaters despite warning signs.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-22, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

Will Murray, an ABC reporter covering heavy rainfall in southeast Queensland, rescued a man from a sinking 4WD on Buchanan Road in Morayfield, north of Brisbane, on Thursday. The vehicle had stalled and began to sink as the driver attempted to navigate through floodwaters that submerged the road. Murray and another bystander swam out to free the trapped driver just before the car went completely underwater. Rainfall in Morayfield reached up to 249 millimeters over 24 hours, causing flash flooding on roads like Buchanan Road. Queensland Police had earlier warned about multiple flood rescues across south-east Queensland due to heavy rainfall of more than 150mm recorded in Caboolture and other areas.

Written for “Flash Flood Rescues In Queensland” on 2026-10-22, grounded in this article and the 2 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Flash Flood Rescues In Queensland
Environment · 3 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
ABC reporter saves man from sinking car same event · 100%
The Sydney Morning Herald · 0.90 cosine similarity
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 6 📰 publisher trust 61
“Both articles describe the same incident where an ABC reporter rescued a driver from a sinking car in floodwaters on Buchanan Road, Morayfield, north of Brisbane, on the same date.”
Motorists rescued by members of the public as rain hits parts of Qld different event · 50%
ABC News (AU)
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 4 📰 publisher trust 68
“Article A covers multiple flood rescues across southeast Queensland, while Article B describes a specific rescue involving an ABC reporter in Morayfield. Although both describe flood-related incidents, they are likely different events.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
19
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 19 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
64/100
Daily Mail's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
3
Environment
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-22 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

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Clarifications and corrections

Who wrote this

Ashley Nickel
70 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Cameras caught the moment ABC reporter Will Murray and another man jumped into the water and swam to a submerged ute on Thursday.
2026-10-22 · assertive framing · Heart-pounding moment trapped driver is saved from sinking car by man in his underwear seconds before it goes underwater in flash floods
🔮 Her social media remained public on Wednesday, including a TikTok with more than a dozen videos she made between 2022 and May of this year.
2026-10-21 · mixed framing · TikTok videos emerge from police cadet accused of sex crimes against underage boy
🔮 Richardson, from Williamstown - 51km northeast of Adelaide, was granted police bail following her arrest.
2026-10-20 · assertive framing · Female police cadet is accused of sex crimes against underage boy
🔮 It's hoped the fundraiser will ease the financial burden on Delilah's grieving parents and three siblings.
2026-10-14 · assertive framing · Mother charged over Adelaide horror crash that killed her 11-year-old daughter just days after her funeral
🔮 The senator fears that more recording devices could be hidden onboard HMAS Leeuwin '
2026-10-14 · assertive framing · Hidden camera uncovered in an Australian navy ship cabin as a police probe is launched
🔮 Benjamin Nicholas Houghton, 40, and Yue Ning Lieu, 42, will spend at least seven months behind bars after police discovered the infant's body during a welfare check at the Tollgate Motel in Glen Osmond in Adelaide's south on Saturday.
2026-10-13 · assertive framing · Parents of baby found dead in an Adelaide motel room are identified - as the mother's disturbing posts prior to her arrest emerge
🔮 He will appear in Newcastle Local Court this Thursday.
2026-10-13 · assertive framing · P-plater who allegedly ploughed into dozens of Newcastle Knights NRL fans charged with more offences
🔮 Police have launched an investigation and will prepare a report for the coroner.
2026-10-13 · assertive framing · Japanese tourist drowns at popular Aussie tourist spot Millaa Millaa Falls
🔮 Victoria Police have launched an investigation into the incident and will prepare a report for the coroner.
2026-10-12 · mixed framing · Toddler dies after she was struck by a car at a home in Smythesdale, Victoria
🔮 An Australian man accused of murdering a Thai teenager and hiding her body in a suitcase has indicated that he will plead guilty to concealing her body.
2026-10-12 · assertive framing · Harrowing scenes in court as Aussie accused of killing Thai teen admits to hiding her body
Also by Ashley Nickel
TikTok videos emerge from police cadet accused of sex crimes against underage boy
2026-10-21 · Daily Mail
Female police cadet is accused of sex crimes against underage boy
2026-10-20 · Daily Mail
Mother charged over Adelaide horror crash that killed her 11-year-old daughter just days after her funeral
2026-10-14 · Daily Mail
Hidden camera uncovered in an Australian navy ship cabin as a police probe is launched
2026-10-14 · Daily Mail
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 70 articles by Ashley Nickel →

Topics

ABC Brisbane Burpengary Morayfield Queensland

Subjects

Murray PERSON · 4× ABC ORG · 2× Brisbane GPE · 2× Will Murray PERSON · 2× Burpengary GPE · 1× Morayfield GPE · 1× Queensland GPE · 1×

Narrative

ABC reporter Will Murray and another man rescued a man from a sinking ute (above) north of Brisbane on Thursday The driver had missed signs warning the road was flooded and his vehicle (above) stalled and began to sink '
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-22
🔮 Cameras caught the moment ABC reporter Will Murray and another man jumped into the water and swam to a submerged ute on Thursday.
2026-10-22 · Daily Mail
Heart-pounding moment trapped driver is saved from sinking car by man in his underwear seconds before it goes underwater in flash floods · assertive framing

Claims (19 extracted, 0 hedged)

A TV reporter covering a flood in southeast Queensland swam through rushing water to rescue a trapped motorist alongside another witness. asserted
reporter → cover → witness
Cameras caught the moment ABC reporter Will Murray and another man jumped into the water and swam to a submerged ute on Thursday. asserted
Murray → catch → Thursday
The car had driven into floodwater at speed on Buchanan Road in Morayfield, north of Brisbane, but stalled and began to sink. asserted
car → drive → Brisbane
Murray was covering the weather event, with 170 millimetres of rain falling in three hours, when he saw the sinking vehicle. asserted
he → cover → vehicle
He and another man swam out to the single-cab ute and began struggling with the passenger-side door. However, the door wouldn't budge. asserted
door → swim → door
Just moments before the car's roof slipped below the surface, the pair managed to crack open the driver-side door enough for the male driver to get out. asserted
driver → slip → door
The trio hugged in the water before swimming to the dry road. asserted
trio → hug → road
ABC reporter Will Murray and another man rescued a man from a sinking ute (above) north of Brisbane on Thursday The driver had missed signs warning the road was flooded and his vehicle (above) stalled and began to sink ' asserted
vehicle → rescue → signs
All three of us gave each other a big hug and were just so relieved,' Murray said. asserted
Murray → give → hug
'It was very scary, but happy everyone is safe and relieved it is okay. asserted
it → relieve → ?
'I just witnessed how quickly it can go south asserted
it → witness → ?
Murray's crew had called Triple-0 during the chaos and emergency services arrived to assist 10 minutes after the dramatic rescue. asserted
services → call → rescue
The driver said he hadn't seen a sign warning the road was flooded and didn't expect the water to be so deep. asserted
water → say → sign
When Murray was praised for the heroic act, he highlighted his adrenaline was 'very, very high' even hours after the rescue and praised emergency services who 'do this regularly'. asserted
who → praise → this
Several areas around Moreton Bay saw heavy flooding on Thursday following heavy rainfall overnight. asserted
areas → see → rainfall
The local council has issued a 'prepare to leave' notice for those in Burpengary and Burpengary East due to ongoing flooding. asserted
council → issue → flooding
The two men managed to pry open the drivers-side door enough for the male driver to escape the sinking car (above) asserted
driver → manage → car
All three men managed to swim back to safety after the dramatic rescue Dozens of roads, as well as Morayfield State High School, were closed due to floods. asserted
Dozens → manage → floods
The worst of the rain was forecast to ease late Thursday but showers were likely to continue into the weekend. asserted
showers → forecast → weekend
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