Last updated: 10:20 a.m.
PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Crews recovered a car from the Schuylkill River that drove off Kelly Drive and into the water early Friday morning.
Anthony Manduzio was fishing under the Girard Avenue Bridge around 3:30 a.m. when he saw the car crash into the water.
He said the car had zipped down Kelly Drive and reached a screeching halt. Then, the driver put the car in reverse toward the Rail Bridge and into the Schuylkill.
“Next thing I see is here back into the water,” said Manduzio. “I started sprinting, calling 911. ... I got out to the water, about knee-deep. I’m screaming, ‘Hello!’ I’m throwing rocks at the windshield, and no response.”
Manduzio said the car floated for a bit before dipping below the water.
It was not immediately clear if there were any passengers in the vehicle.
Philadelphia Police Marine Unit Lt. Andrew Napoli said they located the car about 25 feet below the surface, but the murky water made it difficult to see inside the vehicle.
“In this type of water, it’s zero visibility, so it’s all about touch and feel,” he said.
The Philadelphia Police Marine Unit towed the car out of the river just before 9 a.m., but no one was inside it. Detectives said the trunk and front passenger window were open and the back windshield was smashed.
“When it was under water, we couldn’t tell 100% if someone was in there. We didn’t believe so. So when we got it toward the shoreline we would do a better search of the inside, and there’s no inside of the vehicle,” Napoli said.
“There was an open window, so it’s possible the person — if they were in it when it went into the water — that they got out on their own and walked away, or somehow floated away. We just don’t know.”
This incident happened about 2 miles from where a deadly three-car crash shut down Kelly Drive for several hours Thursday afternoon.
Police blamed the driver of a Nissan Altima, who made an illegal left turn onto Reservoir Drive. As the car turned, a Nissan Rogue hit the sedan, forcing it into a BMW.
The passenger in the Altima was killed. The driver was treated for minor injuries. No other injuries were reported.