A tragic underwater discovery rocked Irvine late Tuesday as a luxury vehicle was fished out of a local lake with a Long Beach woman found dead inside. According to the Irvine Police Department's Facebook post, emergency responders rushed to the area near the intersection of Yale, south of Irvine Center Drive, around 9:57 p.m. to unearth the grim scene.
The late-night rescue operation saw the Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) and Irvine Police Department (IPD) working hand in hand, only to eventually pull the silver Mercedes 4-door sedan from its watery grave, some 30 yards from shore. As per reports by Hoodline, despite efforts to thoroughly and quickly search the area, orchestrated by OCFA with the support of the Huntington Beach PD's helicopter, the rescue morphed tragically into a recovery mission.
The retrieved victim, Camilla Megan Mendoza, was officially declared dead at the scene, with her identity confirmed by Irvine authorities. In a statement obtained by Hoodline, OCFA Public Information Officer mournfully confirmed, "Sadly, 1 individual, an adult female, was confirmed deceased inside the vehicle."
As the community struggles to grasp the sudden loss, IPD's Major Accident Investigation Team (MAIT) has dived deep into investigating the collision's cause. Individuals looking to add pieces to this perplexing puzzle are encouraged to touch base with Detective Christopher Ostrowski as per the information shared by Irvine PD.
