Woman dies after her car is swept into river near Niagara Falls
A woman in her 60s has died after her car was submerged in rushing water at the mouth of Niagara Falls.
The woman was pulled from the car in the Niagara River, about 45 metres from the American Falls. At the mouth of the river, there is a 34 metre plunge to the rocks at the bottom of the falls.
State Parks Police say witnesses reported seeing the car floating down the Niagara River shortly before noon on Wednesday, before it got stuck on the rocks at the brink of the falls. Pictures from the scene show the car almost completely submerged and with the trunk open.
New York State Park Police Captain Chris Rola said during a press conference, “We have never had a vehicle in the water this close to the brink. Due to the area where the vehicle was, our swift water team was not able to make a recovery. We contacted the Coast Guard and their helicopter ... came out and was able to make a recovery.”
They were able to use a drone, however, to see how many people were inside the vehicle, and to attempt to get its licence plate number. The woman was the sole occupant of the car.
The US Coast Guard Great Lakes rescue crew, which included flight mechanic Jon Finnerty, helicopter co-pilot Jake Wawrzyniak, aviation survival technician Derrian Duryea, and aircraft commander Chris Monacelli, flew in from Detroit at 12.30pm, overcoming poor visibility and frigid rapids to reach the car.
#NEW video from the @USCGGreatLakes shows the view of the helicopter crew that pulled a local woman in her late 60s from her car in the Niagara River Wednesday, about 50 yards from the brink of the (American) Niagara Falls. (1/3) @WGRZ pic.twitter.com/NQNCz7VjY8
— Robert Hackford (@Robert_Hackford) December 10, 2021
Once on the scene, they lowered a rescue swimmer down on a hoist, who was able to pull the woman from the vehicle. Video from the rescue shows Petty Officer 2nd Class Derrian Duryea being buffeted by winds and spraying water as he’s lowered the 24 metres to the car through falling snow.
He was eventually able to grab onto the passenger side of the vehicle and open the door. Duryea said in an interview, “As I was coming down I was just really focused on how am I going to get in this car when there’s, you know, pretty much rapids coming over the car right next to Niagara Falls.
”My sole focus was which window or door am I going in. Luckily, the car was unlocked and I didn’t have to break out any windows and I was able to open up the passenger side door and push it up against the current.”
Roughly two minutes after entering the vehicle, Duryea emerged and signalled for his team to hoist him and the driver from the water. Jon Finnerty said, “The current was ripping pretty good through there and the car was close to the edge of the falls. If it moved, we didn’t want him getting dragged out with it.”
The US Coast Guard Great Lakes confirmed on Twitter that the woman was pronounced dead at the scene, writing, “Today, we mourn the loss of a life. We commend the readiness and courage demonstrated today by our crew to effect an 80ft. hoist from a submerged vehicle 20 yards from the top of Niagara Falls in foul weather.”
Investigators believe the vehicle drove into the river in between a pedestrian and vehicle bridge but it’s not clear what circumstances led to the incident. The investigation continues.
Image: Twitter