Ga. Woman Drowns After Car Goes into Swollen Creek

April 07--More than three hours after reportedly running off a Gwinnett County road and into a rain-swollen creek, a woman was found dead inside her vehicle Monday afternoon. It was not the outcome rescue workers nor witnesses wanted.

"The best outcome would have been that they would've gotten down there and been able to find a viable person," Gwinnett fire Lt. Colin Rhoden said. "But unfortunately, what occurred was the person was deceased at the scene."

A wrecker truck was being dispatched to the area to remove the vehicle from the water shortly after 4 p.m., Rhoden said. The woman's identity was not known, he said.

"They were further downstream in the bend of the river where there's a lot of debris, trees, and what we call strainers," Rhoden said.

Witnesses watched helplessly as a car went off a Lilburn road and into a creek Monday around 12:30 p.m.. The car and its driver were then swept downstream into Jackson Creek.

Muddy tire tracks showed the path the vehicle traveled off Harbins Road. But swift-water team swimmers were initially unable to locate the vehicle despite the use of poles dropped into the water, Rhoden said.

"It is speculated that the caller to 911 may have been the person inside the vehicle that was swept away," Rhoden said.

Several people in the area watched the car go into the water, investigators said. George Ruiz told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution he saw a car in the water and tried to drive his own truck to a spot to help, but was stuck in mud.

"It's a helpless feeling," Ruiz said. "All you can see is the car going down and starting to go under and there's not a whole lot you can do."

Ruiz said the vehicle was possibly a small "crossover" type, but that it was submerged too quickly for him to get a better look.

The area has recorded nearly four inches of rain since Sunday. Water in the creek had dropped about two feet by the time the vehicle was located, Rhoden said. But the creek's waters were still high and fast-moving, making the conditions treacherous for firefighters, he said.

"It is hazardous anytime anyone is near swift water," Rhoden said. "As deep as the river was and is, it was very hazardous for responders."

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