Teenage Boy Dies After Car Plunges Into Salt Lake City Canal
A 15-year-old boy died and a two-year-old girl was on life support after they were pulled from a car submerged in a canal in Salt Lake City, Utah, on August 8.
Police released body camera footage of the incident, which shows officers at the scene as well as traumatized family members who were able to escape the vehicle. One person is heard screaming for his brother, and telling police one of the trapped children is “just a little girl, she’s only two.”
The incident was at the Jordan Surplus Canal, near Delong Street and Indiana Avenue, police said.
The deceased was named as Justin Bates, 15. A Facebook fundraiser for funeral costs said he died two days after the crash.
Police said the boy was one of five people in the vehicle that entered the water. Police said the driver and two older children, ages 16 and 17, were able to escape but the two youngest were still trapped when officers arrived.
“Upon arrival, four officers quickly removed their vests and belts and ran into the water to save the children as the car slipped under the surface,” police said. “One officer dived into the water several times to enter through a window but was unable to get in due to the murkiness of the water.”
Police said several firefighters arrived to assist and dove into the water. The two children were rescued from the sinking car and paramedics were able to resuscitate them, police said. The children were taken to hospital, police said, where Justin Bates later died.
“Our hearts go out to the family at this time,” police wrote on Twitter upon news of the teenager’s death. Credit: SLCPD via Storyful
