SEGUIN, Texas – A special team of divers has located a body inside a vehicle that flew off a highway bridge and into the Guadalupe River early Thursday morning, Seguin police said.
According to Officer Sarah Wallace of the Seguin Police Department, at approximately noon on Thursday, first responders removed a Nissan Rogue from the Guadalupe River.
The body of Noel Joshua Hernandez, 29, of Overton, was found in the vehicle, Wallace said. Hernandez was pronounced dead at the scene by Justice of the Peace Judge Hunter.
Seguin police and firefighters responded to the scene, near the public boat ramp under Interstate 10, around 2 a.m. Thursday.
“The reporting party stated that they were behind a vehicle that was driving at a high rate of speed, driving erratically,” said Jennifer Sourdellia, a public information officer for the city of Seguin.
“It hit a guardrail, went down an embankment. The caller confirmed that they saw the car enter the river.”
What the witness did not see, Sourdellia said, was anyone get out of the car after it crashed.
First responders were able to see that there was a car in the water, but not much more due to the darkness and heavy fog.
The dive team from New Braunfels arrived just after daylight, suited up and went into the shallow water.
Sourdellia said the river in that area is about three feet deep.
She said even though they located the vehicle underwater, they were not able to tell right away whether anyone was inside it.
The murky conditions and a shattered windshield prevented them from getting a clear view, Sourdellia said.
A tow truck pulled the car out of the water.