LYNDONVILLE, Vt. (WCAX) – Crews searching for a driver who was swept away by high water in Lyndonville found the vehicle submerged in a branch of the Passumpsic River Thursday. And late that afternoon, they were able to pull the deceased man out of the car.
According to witnesses, the man was attempting to cross a flooded section of road on Center Street and continued forward despite being warned to turn around. The car was swept downriver and almost immediately disappeared below the surface. Multiple boats were deployed to search for the driver and the car but witnesses said the man never resurfaced.
“We had witnesses that attempted to stop him before he drove into the water, and he continued past them and then the current just took his car down into the Passumpsic River,” said Lyndon Police Chief Jack Harris.
Dive crews had to wait for the river to recede before confirming the victim was still inside. Late Thursday afternoon, the water went down enough that they were able to get into the vehicle to get him out.
Police said the man was 73 but they have not yet released his identity.
Police are reminding everyone never to drive through a flooded roadway.