The car that crashed into the East River, killing the driver, was traveling at over 100 miles per hour, according to eyewitnesses. The 2007 Cadillac driven by 45-year-old Kevin Devon Ramsey ran a stop sign on N Street, struck a curb, and hit the adjacent railroad tracks, all without leaving skid marks. Police Chief Kevin Jones says the vehicle traveled approximately 75 yards through the air before landing in the river.
Witnesses called police at around 8:30 and officer Jeff Franklin, being nearby, was on scene in about a minute. Assessing the situation, he removed his duty gear and jumped in the water to try to rescue the occupant of the car. The windows of the car, sitting in tn to twelve feet of water, were up and the doors wouldn't open. Divers tried to deploy float bags to raise the car, but due to the fact that it had sunk into the mud, it was unable to be raised. Finally the DNR were able to use a boat to drag the car near the dock, where police used a winch from a tow truck to pull the car from the water. The entire operation took about five-and-a-half hours.
The body was recovered once the car was out of the water. It is scheduled for an autopsy today. Police currently have no cause for the incident.