NY Police: Appears woman intentionally drove car into Niagara River

New York State Park Police updated the circumstances of an investigation into the death of a woman whose car plunged into the Niagara River on Wednesday.

A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter crew braved poor visibility and frigid rapids to reach a car partly submerged in water near the brink of Niagara Falls, then lowered a rescue swimmer on a hoist who pulled out the woman trapped inside.

She did not survive.

On Thursday, police said while the investigation is still ongoing, “entry into the water appears to be an intentional act.”

“However, cause and manner of death is still yet to be determined through autopsy. At this time, the victim has not been positively identified through the Medical Examiner or Coroner Offices,” said New York State Park Police in a news release.

The Niagara Falls State Park Operations Team is meeting today to determine how the car can be removed, police confirmed.

The incident happened on the American side of the falls around noon on Wednesday. Video from the harrowing rescue attempt showed Petty Officer 2nd Class Derrian Duryea, in an orange suit and with an axe in his left hand, buffeted by winds and spraying water as he was lowered 80 feet (24 meters) to the car through the falling snow. After slowly spinning and swinging past the car, he was able to grab hold on the passenger side and open the door.

About two minutes after entering the car, with water surging around the vehicle and over the brink of the falls about 50 yards (45 meters) downstream, Duryea emerged and signalled for flight mechanic Jon Finnerty to hoist him and the motionless driver, a woman in her 60s, from the water.

“The current was ripping pretty good through there, and the car was close to the edge of the falls. If it moved, we didn’t want him getting dragged out with it,” Finnerty said.

Authorities monitor a car partially submerged in the Niagara River near the brink of American Falls, Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2021, in Niagara Falls, N.Y. A U.S. Coast Guard diver was lowered from a hovering helicopter and pulled a body from the submerged vehicle stuck in rushing rapids just yards from the brink of American Falls, one of three waterfalls that make up Niagara Falls. (Larry Kensinger/NC News Service via AP)

It’s unclear how the car got into the Niagara River. Witnesses reported seeing it floating near a pedestrian bridge, where it was believed to have gone in. Roads in the area were slippery.

One witness, Trey Parks, tells CityNews he lives a block away from where it all took place.

“I’ve never seen anything like this.”

After the rescue, the car remained almost entirely submerged, with only part of the roof and open trunk hatch visible, in the rapids upstream from the American Falls, one of three waterfalls that make up Niagara Falls. Onlookers watched as emergency crews prepared to try to pull the vehicle from the water.

Authorities said the driver lived in the area. Her name was not released pending the notification of her relatives.