HOBART, Ind. — The Lake County Coroner’s office is reporting this morning that the driver whose car plunged Sunday into Deep River died Monday night at St. Mary Medical Center, Hobart.
Cynthia Ray, 46, of Hobart, was pronounced dead at 10:22 p.m. Monday. The Coroner’s office said there was no visible signs of trauma and a ruling as to the cause of death is pending upon further investigation.
Witnesses said Ray was traveling east on East 37th Avenue at a high speed when she crashed into the river near the Deep River Bridge about 600 feet east of North Lake Park Avenue at 1:48 p.m. Sunday.
A police investigation showed Ray narrowly missed hitting a couple of obstacles before the silver Buick LeSabre careened down the embankment just west of the bridge toward the river.
“It’s dumb luck she ended up on the path she was on,” said Hobart Police Detective David Grissom. “She missed both, the (light) pole by inches, the guardrail by inches.”
Police said the car was fully submerged in the river for 45 minutes, but estimated Ray was submerged for about three minutes before being rescued and taken to St. Mary Medical Center.
Republished with permission from The Post-Tribune