A 23-year-old woman in DeKalb County, Alabama, died earlier this month after she was trapped in her car during a thunderstorm and drowned.
On Saturday, June 19, around 10 p.m., officers with the Fort Payne Police Department were in the area of a Mapco gas station and a Dunham’s Sporting Goods helping sleeping truck drivers move their trucks because of heavy rain and flooding. While waking up the truck drivers, officers saw a white passenger car in the water against a bridge behind the gas station.
Officers tried to get the driver, MaKayla Danielle Ross, out of her car “but the vehicle quickly submerged and was swept under the bridge,” according to a statement from Assistant Chief Lee Traylor.
After Ross’ car went under the bridge, first responders and law enforcement looked for her throughout the night with the Swift Water Rescue Teams. Ross’ body was found the next morning at about 8:30 a.m. by Fort Payne Fire Department and Fischer Swift Water Rescue Teams.
After the floodwaters receded, her vehicle was found a day later at 8 a.m. by Fort Payne Public Works.