Even after a dripping wet and damaged Buick Lucerne was hauled from the Red Cedar River about 3 a.m. Friday morning, unanswered questions still hang in the minds of students who saw or heard about what occurred.
The car was found in the river at the near Grand River Avenue and Hagadorn Road after a passerby noticed the partially submerged vehicle near the bridge.
Officials from the East Lansing Police Department and the East Lansing Fire Department responded to a call at about midnight and reacted to the scene by conducting searches and sending rescue boats onto the river, before eventually towing the vehicle onto a nearby parking lot.
East Lansing police Sgt. Scott Wrigglesworth said the person investigators believe was driving the car has been contacted, but the department has not decided whether or not to press charges.
“We’re pretty confident we’ve identified who’s driving,” Wrigglesworth said. “Whether charges will be brought or not is still up in the air.”
The registered owner of the vehicle also has been contacted and informed of the situation.
No other occupants were believed to be in the vehicle, and a visual and K-9 search of the surrounding area brought up no trace of any potential victims.
Although according to the East Lansing Police Department there were no confirmed witnesses to the event, a crowd gathered at the scene after noticing the commotion.
Journalism freshman Aaron Jordan didn’t think much of the police cars and fire trucks that he said screamed past his McDonel Hall dorm room.
But after he checked his Twitter account and found posts about a submerged car in the river close to his residence, Jordan decided to see what was going on.
“I’m honestly surprised no one saw the accident happen. I’m really wondering what will come of the investigation,” he said. “I’m just hoping purely from my curiosity that we learn more about what happened … other than (the car being found in the river), I don’t really know much at all.”
Sociology senior Sean Bradley, who watched most of the scene from the parking lot outside his Grand River Avenue apartment, said the continued mystery surrounding the car’s presence in the river still makes him wonder.
“It’s not shocking, but it is concerning,” he said. “It’s good to know people didn’t get hurt, but who knows what actually happened down there.”
The incident still is under investigation by the East Lansing Police Department.
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