One teenager escaped just before the vehicle began to fill with mud and murky water.
By Associated Press
Published January 9, 2005
MELBOURNE - Three people died after a sport utility vehicle overturned and became mostly submerged in a remote canal in Central Florida.
Florida Highway Patrol Sgt. Chuck Griffith said the Friday night crash killed the driver, Jeremy Charles, 21, of Melbourne; Autumn Noel Gomme, 15, of Palm Bay; and Michael Reinertsen, 16, of Melbourne.
Another passenger, Kathleen Ramsey, 17, of Melbourne, escaped just before the SUV sank into the 6-foot-deep canal and began filling with water and mud.
The Jeep Grand Cherokee came to rest with just a portion of its rear tires visible above the water line.
Emergency dispatchers received a 911 call from a cell phone, but it's unclear who placed the call, said District Chief Rich Wiederhold of Brevard County Fire-Rescue. Brian Herndon of Brevard County Fire-Rescue said he broke the rear window of the SUV and found the three in the rear of the truck.
He and others pulled the victims out of the car and up a muddy bank.
Rescuers didn't know how long the vehicle had been submerged, but they said the combination of murky water and mud made it difficult to find the victims.
