Mother, daughter swept away in floods were from Broken Arrow

Courtesy Photo: Tulsa County Sheriff's Office

Written By: John Dobberstein

(TULSA COUNTY, Okla.) Authorities said Monday they have recovered the bodies of a mother and daughter from Broken Arrow who died during storm-driven flooding Sunday.

Read this story on Broken Arrow Sentiel here. 

The victims were identified by the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Department as Leila Seyed Faraji, 46, and her 7-year-old daughter Rosa Faraji. Deputies said that just after 5 p.m., a boat crew from the Oklahoma Highway Patrol found the girl’s body along with her mother earlier in the day.

The incident happened at U.S. 64 near East 185th Street South in Tulsa County. The TCSO received a call at 4:38 p.m. about a vehicle stranded in the water with multiple people inside. Deputies said the family was in the area to visit friends and took a wrong turn and ended up on a flooded bridge over a creek.

OHP said the force of the water flowing over the bridge carried their Cadillac Escalade away. The father and Rosa’s 10-year-old sister abandoned the vehicle and made it to safety, but Rosa and Leila remained in the vehicle as it was carried away.

Leila was found by OHP deputies at around 9 a.m. Monday in 3 feet of water near the shoreline, and Rosa was found by OHP in 2 feet of water near a sandbar. The mother and daughter were 2 of at least 5 people killed last weekend after severe thunderstorms and heavy rain spawned flooding across central and eastern Oklahoma.

In addition to OHP and Tulsa County Sheriff’s deputies, also assisting at the scene was the Wagoner County Sheriff’s Department, Muscogee Nation Lighthorse Police Department’s Drone Response Team, Tulsa Police Department helicopter unit and Bixby police and fire departments.

The mother and daughter were 2 of 5 people killed last weekend after severe thunderstorms and heavy rain spawned flooding across central and eastern Oklahoma. Two people in Moore died in similar fashion after their vehicle was carried away by flood waters, and 1 man died when a tornado struck his motor home near Spaulding.