Four people were killed and a fifth person was hospitalized after a car crashed through a guardrail and plunged upside down into Mill Creek in Cincinnati on Saturday evening.
The horrifying crash happened around 5:50 p.m. on Aug. 15 near Queen City Avenue in Cincinnati’s South Fairmount neighborhood.
Police said five people were traveling east in a 2019 Infiniti Q50 when the vehicle struck a guardrail at the end of Queen City Avenue and dropped into the creek.
When emergency crews arrived, they found the car upside down and partially submerged in the water.
One occupant, a 27-year-old woman, had managed to get out of the vehicle and was sitting on the portion of the overturned car that remained above the water.
She told rescuers that four other people were still trapped inside and that the vehicle had apparently been in the water for about an hour before help arrived.
Reaching the victims was difficult.
The bank leading down to Mill Creek was reportedly too steep for firefighters to safely enter without ropes, while the water itself was too deep for crews to simply wade out to the overturned vehicle.
Cincinnati Heavy Rescue teams were called to the scene and deployed an inflatable boat to reach the car.
Firefighters first brought the surviving woman to safety before working to remove the four people still trapped inside.
Emergency crews attempted lifesaving measures, but all four victims were pronounced dead at the scene. Police said all four people who died were male.
The 27-year-old woman was taken to UC Medical Center with injuries that were described as minor or non-life-threatening.
Authorities have not yet publicly released the identities of the four people who died.
Investigators are now working to determine exactly what caused the Infiniti to hit the guardrail and plunge into Mill Creek.
