Trinity County authorities continued search and rescue operations Friday for the physique of an toddler who was swept away from his father’s arms after their four-door sedan veered off the freeway and into the Trinity River.
The solo-car accident occurred earlier than 2 a.m. Thursday alongside State Route 299, two miles east from the Massive Flat campground, in accordance with Keith Krick, a spokesman for the California Freeway Patrol.
He stated a younger couple from Shasta Lake had been touring in a 2004 Lexus ES 330 with their 9-month-old toddler within the backseat when the automobile out of the blue veered off the highway, down an embankment and into the fast-moving river.
Krick stated it’s unknown how briskly the motive force, a 21-year-old girl, was going or what brought on her to lose management of the automobile. He stated medication and alcohol weren’t an element within the crash.
He stated the lady and her accomplice, a 19-year-old man, grabbed their toddler son from the sinking automobile and had been attempting to flee when the present swept the younger boy from his father’s arms.
“So sooner or later, the kid was handed from one particular person to the opposite and that’s the final time both celebration remembers seeing the kid,” Krick stated.
He stated the dad and mom suffered minor to average accidents. Krick stated the daddy was not sporting a seat belt on the time of the crash. CHP declined to call the dad and mom.
He stated the couple and the submerged automobile had been found by a California Freeway Patrol helicopter however efforts to find the kid weren’t profitable.
Search and rescue groups with the Trinity County Sheriff’s Workplace continued the search Friday however as of 12 p.m. that they had not been capable of find the younger baby.
The river — a well-liked spot for white water rafting round this time of the yr — is fast-moving and harmful. On the time of the crash and placement, the water was flowing at 3,480 cubic toes per second, in accordance with the U.S. Geological Survey, which tracks the river’s circulate.
Krick stated the investigation into the crash is ongoing.
