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Car plunges into Saugatuck River killing husband, wife survives

Car+plunges+into+Saugatuck+River+killing+husband%2C+wife+survives

By Megan Brown ’17

At approximately 8 p.m. on Saturday, diners at The Whelk were disrupted by the sound of a woman screaming from the Saugatuck River. They immediately dialed first responders.

“They [the people at the restaurant] couldn’t see her, but they heard her screaming in the channel,” Lieutenant Dave Farrell said. “First responders were able to get a boat in the water immediately and locate her about 200 yards north of where the screaming originally took place.”

Rescue workers were successful in pulling her out of the water, though she couldn’t recollect how the vehicle got there. The woman noted that there was someone else in the car with her, which prompted more rescue teams to help with the search.

At this point, a dive team was called in, and, “about ten minutes later, they located the vehicle in the water under 95,” Farrell said.

The William F. Cribari Memorial Bridge on Bridge Street was closed by police to the traffic as they continued the search for the other missing passenger.

With divers swimming up and down the river, and first responders searching on land near surrounding boat launches, it took about a half hour before officers located the other person floating in the water near the Bridge Street bridge. He was later said to be the woman’s 70-year-old husband.

Both passengers were rushed to Norwalk Hospital, their conditions initially undeclared.

Officers are still unsure as to how the vehicle, with reportedly a New York license plate, ended up in the water.

The wife remains alive and in the hospital, but the husband was pronounced dead.

Tow trucks came to retrieve the car, and police are continuing their investigation of the cause of the accident.

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