A woman was discovered dead after her automobile plunged into the Niagara River on Dec. 8. The U.S. Coast Guard was called in after authorities were unable to make a land rescue.
The U.S. Coast Guard Great Lakes division said on Twitter that “Air Station Detroit helicopter crew members hoisted one female from the vehicle in the Niagara River and transferred her to local EMS. The individual was pronounced deceased on scene.”
According to officials, the woman was in her 60s and resided along the river in Niagara Falls, New York.
It’s unclear how the car ended up in the river, but the snow made the roadways around Niagara Falls treacherous on Wednesday, NY Post reported.
According to the Buffalo News, cops received witness accounts that a car had entered the water between the Goat Island pedestrian bridge and the automobile bridge on the American side of the falls.
As water rushes around it, the automobile is nearly fully submerged. Several windows and the trunk of the car are open.
HAPPENING NOW: A car in the Niagara River at the tip of the American Falls. Rescue underway. Folks watching say they haven't seen anyone exit the vehicle. @FOX29Buffalo pic.twitter.com/ApbIqs7Pv2
— Emily Girsch (@EmilyGirsch) December 8, 2021
According to the Associated Press, the automobile stayed approximately 50 yards from the edge of Niagara Falls after the rescue. Efforts are currently underway to dredge it from the river.
Mick Reece, a Niagara Falls local, said he was on the scene when the woman was taken away by helicopter.
“It’s just a tragedy and prayers for her family and for her,” he told the local news station. “Hopefully they can recover the vehicle out of there before it goes over but if not I guess it will stay down there I don’t know how they would get it out from down there.”
