Dramatic Coast Guard helicopter rescue from car submerged just above Niagara Falls recovers dead driver

Police in Niagara Falls were alerted to a black sedan floating down the Niagara River toward American Falls late Wednesday morning, and after New York State Park Police determined they couldn't safely send a diver or boats to rescue any occupants of the car, the U.S. Coast Guard was called in. The car at this point was lodged against some rocks about 50 yards from the edge of American Falls. "We've never had a vehicle in the water this close to the brink," State Parks Police Capt. Chris Rola told reporters.

A U.S. Coast Guard Great Lakes rescue crew flew over in a helicopter from Detroit at about 12:30, and aviation survival technician Derrian Duryea was lowered down to the car on a rope after the copter arrived a little before 2 p.m., WGRZ reports. Duryea was able to pull the car's sole occupant, a local woman in her 60s, from the car, but she was pronounced dead after he got her to a waiting ambulence on shore.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.