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Trinity County authorities continued their search and rescue operations Friday for the body of a toddler who was wiped out of his father’s arm after the four-door sedan entered the Trinity River from the highway.
According to California Highway Patrol spokesman Keith Crick, the solo car accident occurred along State Route 299 just before 2am Thursday, two miles east of Big Flat Campground.
He said a young couple on Lake Shasta was traveling with a nine-month toddler on a 2004 Lexus ES 330 when vehicles suddenly left the road, descended the embankment, and suddenly turned towards the fast-moving river.
Crick said it is unclear how fast the driver, a 21-year-old woman, is and what made her lose control of the vehicle. He said drugs and alcohol were not the cause of the crash.
He said the woman and her partner, a 19-year-old man, were trying to escape as they grabbed their young son from the sinking car and cleaned the boy out of his father’s arm.
“So, at one point, a child was handed over from one person to another. That’s the last time one party remembers seeing a child,” Crick said.
He said his parents suffered mild to moderate injuries. Crick said his father was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash. CHP refused to name his parents.
He said the couple and the submerged vehicle were discovered by a California Highway Patrol helicopter, but efforts to find the child were not successful.
A search and rescue team with the Trinity County Sheriff’s Office continued their search on Friday, but as of 12pm they were unable to find the young child.
The river is a popular spot for white water rafting during this time of year, moving fast and dangerous. At the time of the collision and location, the water was flowing at 3,480 cubic feet per second, according to a US Geological Survey tracking the river flow.
Click said an investigation into the crash was underway.
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