A first responder rescuing the woman from her submerged vehicle.Photo: Jeffrey T Barnes/AP/Shutterstock
In a statement to PEOPLE, Detective-Sergeant Brian Nisbet with the New York State Park Police says information thus far has indicated that the woman “deliberately and intentionally drove her car into the upper Niagara River and the rapids” on Wednesday.
Nisbet also notes that authorities are currently interviewing friends and relatives of the unidentified woman in her 60s as the investigation continues.
The New York State Park Police first confirmed the incident ina social media post, stating that multiple agencies responded to the scene after reports of a car “approximately 75 yards above the brink of the American Falls.”
According to police, “the vehicle entered the water upriver from the pedestrian bridge and floated toward the brink before coming to rest.”
Nisbet tells PEOPLE the car entered the water at 11:42 a.m. and that authorities started receiving 911 calls “pretty much immediately afterward.”
The submerged vehicle in Niagara River.Jeffrey T Barnes/AP/Shutterstock
Nisbet tells PEOPLE the Coast Guard helicopter didn’t arrive until 2 p.m., more than two hours after the car had plunged into the frigid waters. The woman was pulled from the vehicle shortly after.
First responders at the scene of the rescue.Jeffrey T Barnes/AP/Shutterstock
Tragically, she did not survive, dying from her “injuries and/or the elements,” the Police Benevolent Association (PBA) of New York Statestated in a press release.
As of Thursday, the car was still mostly submerged in Niagara River, approximately 50 yards from the edge of the falls, theAssociated Pressreported. Officials are currently trying to determine the best way to remove the vehicle from the waters.
“It’s a tragic event and we don’t like seeing these,” Nisbet tells PEOPLE. “I’ve been here 31 years and this is a first.”
Though the outcome wasn’t what they had hoped for, the PBA of New York State commended the first responders for taking action amid a dangerous situation.
“The PBA of New York State today praised the selfless, dangerous and heroic efforts of the myriad of agencies that responded to the report of a vehicle in the water at Niagara Falls on Wednesday,” theywrote in the press release.
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 or go tosuicidepreventionlifeline.org.
source: people.com
