A man died after his vehicle became submerged in floodwaters in Snohomish County, Wash.
Firefighters were called to Marsh Road southwest of Snohomish at about 1:30 a.m. local time on Tuesday, Dec. 16, according to a statement from the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office. A diver later recovered the man’s body from the submerged vehicle.
Emergency medical crews attempted CPR, but the man was pronounced dead at the scene, the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office told King 5.
Investigators believe the driver was a 33-year-old man who has not yet been publicly identified. Authorities say he drove past road-closure signs and onto a flooded stretch of road before the car dropped into a ditch filled with roughly six feet of water, according to Fox 13.
Lt. Benjamin Bloomquist of Snohomish Regional Fire Rescue — the diver who recovered the body — said drivers often underestimate flood conditions.
“I think people are confident that they can get through or they think it’s more shallow than it is. Then they realize too late that it’s too deep,” Bloomquist told King 5.
“People keep making decisions to drive through the waters. Mistakes happen. Water becomes really deep really fast,” he added.
The driver was reportedly on the phone with his wife when the incident occurred, and she called 911, per the outlet. Officials noted that the “Turn Around Don’t Drown” campaigns began more than two decades ago to urge motorists to avoid floodwaters in Washington and across the U.S., according to King 5.
“Going into this storm system, we were thinking there has been a lot of messaging and warning. We were hoping that would be enough to keep people out of these waters when they have a choice,” Bloomquist told King 5.
Flooding across Washington has caused widespread impacts this week. Precautionary evacuations were ordered for about 1,300 residents in Pacific, Wash., after a levee breach along the White River, King County emergency management told CNN on Tuesday.
The man will be formally identified after an autopsy by the Snohomish County Medical Examiner’s Office. Authorities have not said whether drugs or alcohol may have been involved.
