An elderly man and woman were found dead Sunday inside a car pulled from a canal along Powerline Road in south Sutter County, after a passerby noticed part of the vehicle's rear roof jutting out of the water and called 911, authorities said. Emergency crews responded and confirmed both occupants had died. The crash remains under investigation.
Vehicle located on private farmland
According to The Sacramento Bee, the car was in a canal off southbound Powerline Road, south of Striplin Road, on private farmland and was registered with Nevada license plates. Only a section of the rear roof could be seen from the roadway when it was discovered.
CHP says tire marks point to failed turn
The California Highway Patrol reported that tire tracks at the scene indicated the vehicle had been heading north on Catlett Road, then reached a 90-degree turn where the driver appeared to attempt a three-point turn before reversing into the canal. A person walking in the area told investigators they had passed through Saturday evening and did not see a vehicle there, but returned Sunday around 4:30 p.m. and called 911 after spotting the car in the water, CBS Sacramento reported.
Rescue crews recover two occupants
A Yuba City Fire Department water-rescue team recovered the submerged vehicle and found two people inside, according to authorities. The Sutter County coroner will release their identities once relatives are notified, and officials said the cause of the crash is still being determined, The Sacramento Bee reported.
Incident underscores local road-safety focus
The discovery comes as Yuba-Sutter officials work on a regional road-safety plan in response to a series of deadly crashes, with a blueprint that calls for signal upgrades, new roundabouts and other corridor fixes. Hoodline previously covered that regional safety crackdown and the push to bundle local projects into larger funding bids to make key routes safer.
CHP's Yuba-Sutter office and the Sutter County coroner are continuing to investigate, and authorities have not yet released an official cause of the crash, CBS Sacramento reported.
