The moment the 66-year-old driver was torn from the car as it staggered over the edge of the NIAGARA FALLS for two hours after falling from the side of the bridge into the freezing river
- The Coast Guard pulled the body of a 66-year-old woman from her car on Wednesday afternoon when it wobbled near the edge of Niagara Falls on the United States side
- Buffalo News reporter Stephen Watson said the car fell into the Niagara River and was only 30 meters from the falls
- Rescue workers quickly arrived on site and a member of the Coast Guard disembarked from a helicopter to rescue the driver
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The Coast Guard flew the body of a woman from her car on Wednesday as it swayed on the edge of Niagara Falls.
Videos posted on Twitter documented the terrible moment on Wednesday afternoon after the woman was stuck in the car about 50 meters from the edge of the falls when snow fell on the area. It was on the American side near Prospect Point, New York.
The woman did not move when authorities arrived at the scene around 1 p.m., officials said at a subsequent press conference.
A Coast Guard member was able to disembark from a helicopter on a wire rope just south of the vehicle, break open the passenger door with an ax, and rescue her from the car, but soon discovered she was already dead.
Her death was later confirmed by the US Great Lakes Coast Guard.
Park police told WHAM that the victim was a 66-year-old local woman. It remains unclear whether she drove into the icy water accidentally or on purpose.
From 2pm onwards, the crews worked to recover the vehicle from the falls, but said they “do not believe the car has any evidential value”.
Rescue workers rushed to the site to assess the situation after a car crashed into the Niagara River and quickly approached the falls on Wednesday afternoon
The car was only 30 meters away from tumbling over Niagara Falls on Wednesday afternoon when the driver was pulled out of the car by a member of the Coast Guard
The US Coast Guard rescue driver got the passenger out of the car on the edge of the falls and flown the body
The 66-year-old woman was already dead when the Coast Guard crew managed to get her out of the car
A Coast Guard member was preparing to dive into the river to free the trapped motorist
State Park police said at a news conference following the incident that witnesses reported seeing the car on Goat Island just before receiving calls around noon that a car was floating down the river and stuck on some rocks.
They found that the river water washed over the windshield, with the current reaching the bottom of the vehicle’s side windows.
Photos and videos of bystanders showed that the car was almost completely submerged in the early afternoon, with only part of the roof and an open trunk hatch visible through the whitewater as the roads remained slippery due to the snow conditions.
Captain Chris Rola said the crews quickly realized that a rapid water rescue team couldn’t attempt a rescue based on where the car landed. ‘
He added that while park police waited for the Coast Guard helicopter to arrive, they used a drone to see how many people were in the vehicle and tried to obtain a license plate. They discovered that she was the only one in the car at the time and believe that she was driving the vehicle when it fell into the water.
When the Coast Guard began their rescue attempt, the New York Power Authority reduced the flow of water at the falls to aid the rescue effort, according to the Niagara Gazette.
Rola refused to reveal the victim’s name on Wednesday afternoon until her family was notified of her death.
The incident is being investigated by the New York State Park Police.
Officials used a drone to determine how many people were in the car and tried to get a license plate
Dozens of police and firefighters remained on site Wednesday afternoon, including a Niagara County sheriff’s helicopter.
At one point, as reported by Syracuse.com, a state park official was seen putting on scuba gear.
